LAUSR

Abstract China's rapid urbanisation has stimulated the motivation to learn among the elderly in urbanised communities, which impacts their social integration. However, due to the constraints of social identity and the scarcity of formal education resources, most have turned to informal learning, and square dancing has become one of the most appropriate and typical forms of such learning. This study investigates a group of elderly urbanised community residents' experiences of square dancing with respect to their informal learning processes and the mechanisms in groups of different scales. The findings showed that long-term practice can help reach a consensus of space and time for square dancing, as well as form peer-led interactive learning patterns that replace the need for professional instruction. It was also revealed that with the expansion of the scope of a square dance, municipal governments gradually realised the importance of community cultural activities to the land-lost elderly and consolidated this activity through funding or by organising competitions and performances. The informal learning offered by square dancing effectively accelerated the identity transition, individual self-satisfaction, and social integration of the elderly and promoted the reconstruction of the publicness and social harmony of the urbanised communities.