Bio

Patricia Gouthro

Patricia GouthroLike many scholars, my biography has shaped my learning trajectory and research interests. This may be one reason why I am interested in doing life history and biographical research in my own academic work.

I was born in Montreal and grew up living in different places in Canada and the United States. My father was an American (from Virginia) and my mother was born a British citizen prior to Confederation (when Newfoundland joined Canada). No doubt this experience of being raised in a couple of different countries sparked my interest around learning and citizenship, which I have taken up in several research projects.

During my twenties I completed my B.A. and M.A. in Sociology at the University of Guelph. I also got married and had three children. Like many women, the next couple of decades involved juggling multiple responsibilities between home, part-time teaching in the private sector, community college, and university. I started a Ph.D. in Education at Dalhousie University once my youngest child started school. The challenges I faced during my own educational journey made me aware of gender barriers that persist in academe. My dissertation drew upon Habermasian and feminist theories to develop a theoretical framework to explore learning in the homeplace. My first SSHRC grant focused on women’s learning trajectories. I also developed an interest in doing research in Jamaica as I taught there for twelve years when the Mount partnered with local adult education and literacy organizations to offer our program in Kingston.

Recent research projects focus on learning in connection to fiction writing. This evolved from research I have done on Sisters in Crime, an organization that supports women mystery writers. A prior SSHRC grant looked at the interconnections between lifelong learning, citizenship and the craft of writing fiction. My collaborator, Susan Holloway and I then completed a second SSHRC study to consider how fiction writing may be used to promote creative literacies. Our current SSHRC grant (in which Susan is the principal investigator) examines the use of multiliteracies to inform adolescent and adult learning experiences. A recently published book with my UK collaborator, Christine Jarvis, examines professional learning in connection to narrative fictions.

I feel very fortunate to work at Mount Saint Vincent University where I was hired on tenure-track in 2000. I am now a full professor. Over the years I have worked with many exceptional adult educators and I have been actively involved in our national organization (CASAE) – the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education, serving as president and helping to organize several conferences. I was a joint editor for the International Journal of Lifelong Education with Peter Jarvis and John Holford for two years. I continue to teach in our Graduate Studies in Lifelong Learning program and in 2016 I was delighted to win the Mount Saint Vincent University Award for Research Excellence.

My husband, Brian, is a retired golf course superintendent, and our three children, Courtney, Erik, and Brennan, are now young adults and embarked on their own careers. Our grandchildren, Julia, Annabelle, Declan, Jack, and Ruby are a constant delight. My learning in the homeplace continues!