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Abstract
This article provides a critical analysis of the challenges and opportunities faced by older adults in Latin American higher education, emphasizing the need to integrate university educational gerontology with inclusive didactics. The main objective is to highlight the structural barriers that persist in curriculum, assessment, and digital inclusion, while arguing for the urgent construction of a pedagogical approach that recognizes age diversity as a fundamental dimension of university life. The study was conducted through a comprehensive documentary analysis, drawing on international reports, national regulations, and recent academic literature. This approach made it possible to identify tensions between declared policies and actual practices, as well as to reveal gaps in addressing the educational trajectories of older adults. Beyond describing experiences, the research offers critical interpretations that point toward consolidating a Latin American corpus of university educational gerontology. The results underline three key findings: first, curricular rigidity restricts the full participation of older adults in undergraduate and graduate programs; second, standardized assessments prevail, often disregarding prior knowledge and life trajectories; and third, the persistent digital divide continues to limit access to virtual learning environments. In response to these barriers, emerging experiences of flexible curricula, inclusive assessment, and digital literacy programs were identified, which, although fragmented, represent valuable references for advancing broader initiatives. The conclusions affirm that the inclusion of older adults in higher education requires a profound transformation of the university model. University educational gerontology, articulated with inclusive didactics, can serve as a guiding framework to move beyond assistentialism, recognize the richness of life trajectories, and strengthen the university as an intergenerational space. In this way, higher education in Latin America is called upon to reaffirm its social responsibility in building education for all ages.
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