TOWARD A PARADIGM FOR INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAMMING: A COMPARISON OF
ROGERS'S AND KANTER'S INNOVATION MODELS

                        ANGELIS, MARY JANE; PHD

                        SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY AT CARBONDALE, 1989

                        GERONTOLOGY (0351); MASS COMMUNICATIONS (0708); SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT (0700); HEALTH SCIENCES, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (0758); PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL (0451)
 

                         Intergenerational programs represent a major innovation in American life which reverses the recent rand
                         toward segregation of the ages. Intergenerational programs have existed officially since the advent of the
                         Foster Grandparent programs in 1963. Though nearly twenty-five years old, we know relatively little about
                         intergenerational programs. This study explores the adoption/implementation process of seven
                         intergenerational programs in relation to two different innovation models, Everett M. Rogers's diffusion of
                         innovation model, and Rosabeth Kanter's tasks of innovation. Each of these models provides rich
                         information about innovations which gives a basis for the intergenerational model. The intergenerational
                         model revolves around three leadership processes: creating, nurturing, and stabilizing. The creating
                         stage reveals a leader with imagination and energy, who discovers a need and addresses it with an
                         intergenerational program. The nurturing stage portrays a talented problem solver responsive to others.
                         During this stage the innovator/leader gathers 'necessary others,' links young and old, and lavishes
                         attention to help the program prosper. Last, the stabilizing stage commands the ability to develop
                         organizational support and in most cases, relinquish control. The model is cyclical, moving back and forth
                         in response to the dynamics of the program. Common threads running through these programs, in
                         addition to the leaders, are a pressing need, organizational support, involvement of media, and a
                         successful method of recruiting volunteers.
 

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