Agents for Change? Co-operative Colleges and their role in co-operative development

This paper focuses on the history of co-operative education and especially the significant role played by the Co-operative Colleges in the UK and in Africa during the second half of the twentieth century. Co-operative... [ view full abstract ]

This paper focuses on the history of co-operative education and especially the significant role played by the Co-operative Colleges in the UK and in Africa during the second half of the twentieth century. Co-operative Colleges remain important, if under valued, agencies for co-operative education. A large number of colleges still operate today. Using resources from the National Co-operative Archive in the UK, I will discuss the changing role and expectations of the Colleges in both colonial and post colonial co-operative development strategies.

The UK originated the Co-operative College model which was then was adopted by many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The paper will look at how successful these colleges were in stimulating co-operative development. What kinds of education did they offer? How did this change over time?What were the differences between them? Case studies from several African countries will be used to analyse these and other questions.

Evidence from the archives will also provide insights into the role of the U.K. college in driving the adoption of the College model and the role that their international programmes played in this process. I will conclude by discussing how the colleges' role and their provision of education relates to some of the wider discourses around international development and co-operatives.