Later‐Life Learning Among Latin Americans in Canada: Toward a Critical Pedagogy of Place

Abstract

This article examines interconnections between place‐based education and the Latin American Canadian migratory life course. It presents findings of a grounded theory study that utilized in‐depth interviews of 15 Latin American Canadian immigrant older adults (55 years and older) who participate in a mobile adult day support programme in northwest Toronto. The study explored the experiences of service‐users of place‐based education aimed at developing or strengthening their livelihood strategies. Findings revealed that many ageing immigrants view place‐based education as a vital resource that supports their ability to access culturally specific and mainstream services, expands their social networks, and can boost their life chances at successive life course stages. However, findings also indicated that immigrants also view place‐based education as inadequate and ill‐timed and would have preferred greater access to education when they first settled in Canada. The article contributes to emergent scholarship on ageing, transnational migration, and localized education for settlement and integration. Conceptually, it advances a life course justice approach to racialized immigrants’ later‐life learning by underscoring the utility of integrating a critical pedagogy of place into community education.