intergenerational play

Abstract Educational innovation requires strategies that promote participation, social interaction, and the collective construction of learning. The objective was to analyze the perceptions of educational stakeholders regarding intergenerational play-based strategies as a pedagogical resource related to cognitive and socioemotional dimensions. The theoretical framework integrated play-based learning, intergenerational learning, and socioemotional development. A quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive-correlational, and cross-sectional study was conducted with 502 participants from the educational community. A structured survey was administered, and frequencies, percentages, and associations among categorical variables were analyzed. 96.0% considered intergenerational participation to be important or very important; 89.2% felt comfortable or very comfortable interacting with people of other ages; 93.2% rated their ability to work in teams favorably; and 88.0% rated their memory and concentration skills as good or excellent. A higher frequency of recreational activities was associated with greater cognitive stimulation (76.2% vs. 38.0%; χ²=74.63; p<0.001; V=0.386), and frequent stimulation was linked to a favorable perception of memory and concentration (94.0% vs. 79.4%; χ²=24.35; p<0.001; V=0.220). It is concluded that there is a favorable predisposition toward intergenerational activities, although the cross-sectional design does not allow for the establishment of causality.