Author: Sabina Jelenc Krašovec & Marta Gregorcic

Edition: Volume 57, Number 3, November 2017

Summary: Our paper deals with intergenerational informal learning developed by participatory democracy process in the Self-organized District Communities (SDC) in Maribor, the second largest city in Slovenia. It is based on the assumption that SDC assemblies, being safe and trustworthy, are very powerful spaces for behavioural and values exchange between generations and also for social and political engagement, having a capacity for critical, informed and caring citizenry of all ages (Pinnington & Schugurensky, 2009). Our case study is focused on the social dimensions of acquisition of skills, knowledge, attitudes and practices, as identified by Schugurensky (2006; 2013), and on features of social learning (Serrat et al., 2016). In an embedded single-case study design with multiple units (Yin, 2012) we conducted 12 interviews and a focus group. Among interviewees, six were retired, four were employed, one was a student and one was unemployed; they were members of first, second and the third generations. Results show that besides knowledge, skills and practices gained through intergenerational political and social actions in SDC assemblies, value and attitudinal changes (also regarding age) are among the most important outcomes of the democratic participatory process.

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 57:3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.