Preparing for an age-diverse workforce: Intergenerational service-learningin social gerontology and business curricula

Age diversity may well be the most conflict-ridden diversity issue of the e arly 21st century. With the impending "age boom," institutions of higher ed ucation need to begin to prepare graduates in all disciplines to work in a multigenerational workforce. Younger graduates, as well as older workers re turning to the classroom for retraining, need to know how to manage conflic t in an age-diverse work environment. Project ALIGN (the Alabama Intergener ational Network for Service-Learning) provides opportunities for students i n business and the social sciences to work with older workers in a communit y-based training program. Data from a statewide survey of attitudes about w orkers at both ends of the career life cycle provided contextual informatio n for this pilot project. Pre- and posttests of student attitudes provided data for project evaluation. Student attitudes were compared with results o f the statewide survey and attitudes of older workers before participating in the project. Discussion in, this article includes pedagogical strategies for building collegial relationships across disciplinary boundaries, chang ing attitudes through intergenerational shared activity, and meeting commun ity needs through service-learning.