Co-Operation, Learning and Co-Operative Values: Contemporary Issues in Education

The rapidity of change in education has intensified in recent years. With the emergence of ‘co-operative schools’ and a new framework focusing heavily on co-operation, a direct challenge to ways of thinking about education, at both school and university level, has developed.

Co-operation, Learning and Co-operative Values addresses the urgent need to describe, analyse and assess the growth of co-operative education. The relationship between co-operation and education is a complex process and this book critically reflects on the tensions and obstacles facing this movement. It brings together the contributions of academics and practitioners from a range of backgrounds, and explores topics including:

1. Theories and histories of co-operative values and principles
2. Critical views of the practice of co-operative education
3. Case studies of processes in action from both schools and higher education
4. Co-operative education in a wider context

This book provides an essential introduction to a new and expanding area of research with chapters by many leading commentators in education. It will be of interest to researchers and educators interested in education and social policy.

Review:

"It is rare that visions for radical social, economic and cultural change are accompanied by both rich histories of struggle and compelling examples of actually existing accomplishment; it is even rarer to find accounts of such possibilities that are convincing in a new educational order which specialises in cultivating despair. Co-operation, Learning and Co-operative Values is an antidote to this mystification and should be read widely by anyone seeking inspiration for their own visions and strategies for transforming education." - Sarah Amsler, University of Lincoln

About the Editor:

Tom Woodin is Senior Lecturer in Education at the Institute of Education, University of London.