ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the need for much more debate and research on co-operative education. It reports on the findings of a survey of co-operative education in the UK, and its relation to the co-operative movement, carried out in 2011. The chapter also draws on the contemporary experience of the Co-operative College which has played a central role in co-operative education since 1919, originally conceived as a new form of higher education for the co-operative movement. Co-operative education has been characterized by multiple meanings and a diversity of practice. They provide an important legacy which continues to resonate, bringing contemporary opportunities and challenges. There are signs that the provision and nature of co-operative education may be reaching a turning point. This is happening in several ways. While an expanding number of providers has encouraged fragmentation through both duplication and the creation of gaps in provision, it also reflects a growing and diverse co-operative sector.
