Universities in the UK are increasingly adopting corporate governance structures, a consumerist model of teaching and learning, and have the most expensive tuition fees in the world. This research employed collaborative methods that aimed to develop and define an alternative conceptual framework of knowledge production grounded in co-operative values and principles. The main findings were published as a framework for co-operative higher education, including five ‘catalytic principles’: knowledge, democracy, bureaucracy, livelihood, and solidarity. We worked with academics, students and co-operative members to put these principles into practice. The research has had impact on political policy and institutional practice through the planned creation of a federated co-operative university that goes beyond the distinction of public and private education.
Prof. Mike Neary, School of Social and Political Sciences
Dr Joss Winn, School of Education