Digital narrative gerontology: Wellbeing through storytelling in the later years

Stories can connect us. Béatrice Crettenand Pecorini (MA, ’19), who is a doctoral candidate in the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Education, describes how when older people recount, record and share stories from their lives, they can experience increased feelings of well-being. Her research, funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, examines the effects of tech-infused intergenerational sharing and learning. 

This conversation is part of our Scholars in Education series. 
 

Some girls dream of Prince Charming. When I was a child in Switzerland, I dreamed of becoming a nurse. It started the first time I went to the hospital to see my grandmother. I remember the scent of disinfectant and seeing the nurses, who were still wearing white dresses at that time. My older sister said “it stinks.” I thought it smelled good. As a young teen, I started reading biographies. When I read about Albert Schweitzer, the pioneering doctor of humanitarian medicine, I knew for sure I’d become a nurse. After nursing school, I did an ambulance internship, worked as a nurse anesthetist for eight years, and then taught in a paramedic school. This is how I started in education—which eventually led to international humanitarian missions with different organizations, teaching disaster preparedness to health-care professionals and volunteers. I completed an MA in Health Professions Education in the Faculty of Education before starting my PhD.

My research is based on the concept of lifelong learning. More specifically, it’s about intergenerational learning and well-being, using digital technology as a bridge for encounters between generations. It’s an innovative idea where an older adult tells the story of their life to a younger adult over the course of several meetings. Then, together, they create a digital narrative lasting a few minutes, illustrated by photos and other mementos, and with the voice of the older adult. The aim of this research is to better understand the shared experience of digital narrative gerontology. So far, all the “older adult-younger adult” pairs have enjoyed working together, and some have kept in touch even after the research was over. It’s also a way of combating ageism and developing approaches to a more harmonious and respectful demographic transition in which more people are living longer. 

I already had a degree and experience in andragogy (teaching adult learners) and in gerontagogy (teaching elderly learners), and the digital field also interested me, so my thesis supervisor steered me towards this original approach of digital narrative gerontology that I had developed during my master's studies. The notion of having fun while engaged in informal, intergenerational learning with the young and old working together, combined with the concept of lifelong learning, immediately appealed to me. Older adults are an essential component for the collective success of our society. They have a vital role to play in social inclusion for all generations. Ultimately, we are all potential older persons—so what kind of society do we want to live in?

First and foremost, older adults—but all generations really, especially young people. Teenagers and even children in schools or other organizational settings can do digital narrative gerontology. There are so many positive facets: fighting ageism, of course, but there`s also the historical and social importance of life stories, cultivating digital skills, informal learning, improving self-esteem through carrying out projects, promoting respect for others, developing social skills, increasing a sense of usefulness to society, strengthening cultural pride and identity, the list is long! Overall, it’s by fostering intergenerational interaction to enable different generations to connect, discovering more about each other, and learning to live better together that we’ll build a more inclusive society with happier individuals.

I’ve read a lot about intergenerational relationships, but none of the literature talked about humour. Humour is a subject that has received very little attention in scientific studies on learning. Yet it’s one of the things that all the young person adult/older person pairs I’ve worked with have in common. Listening to the pairs’ oral diaries, I not only heard their laughter, but also their complicity in a humour that’s funnier and more contagious every time. This humour certainly contributes to the well-being described during the meetings. Initial results also indicate that informal learning is underestimated, and that participants don’t think about everything they learn during intergenerational encounters. Findings from the study also showed that pairs who worked together face-to-face were able to complete the project, even those who were followed remotely outside Canada, but that online pair meetings were not successful. In-person presence is clearly important in intergenerational relationships.

I narrowed my choice to three universities, and then it came down to the possibility of studying in French at a bilingual university, and more specifically in the Faculty of Education, which offered me simplified administrative access. I’ve also had opportunities to participate in various research projects and teaching as part of my doctoral studies. A very important part of my decision was to have “the” thesis supervisor who matched my personality as a student. 

Béatrice Crettenand Pecorini is a doctoral candidate in health professions education in the Faculty of Education and a member of the LIFE Research Institute. She is a co-author of Narrative gerontology and digital storytelling: What benefits for elders? (2017); La gérontologie narrative numérique : porte ouverte sur les apprentissages informels intergénérationnels et les communications numériques (2020), and Digital narrative gerontology as bridges between generations to improve well-being, learning and share experiences (2023).