Intergenerational cultural transmission

Intergenerational transmission refers to the exchange of some good or service between one generation and another. Social learning is a basic activity of people in human societies. In this study pensioners and children from grade two in comprehensive school partake in a mutual intergenerational cultural transmission. Five pensioners have declared themselves willing to meet with some children and to tell them about old times. The researcher met with the pensioners and asked them to tell their life stories. From these stories the researcher together with the pensioners then isolated one theme for each story about which the pensioner would discuss with the children. From the first meeting on, the next steps were decided upon by the pensioner and the children. The meetings were video filmed, whereupon a reducted story was created and analyzed. We ask: Can schoolchildren and pensioners in a reciprocal transmission of culture form lasting friendships that enrich the lives of both? We analysed the reducted stories using the division into hermeneutic, semic, symbolic, proairetic, and cultural codes introduced by Barthes. Here we present the results of the analysis of Monica's and Nicole's meetings. After their third meeting Monica invites Nicole to visit her whenever she likes to. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.