Institutionalizing Co-operative Education in Universities - the Case of the Co-op Network Studies Program in Finland

Abstract

In this article we study the understudied topic of the institutionalization of co-operative education with an illustrative case study of Co-op network studies (CNS) program – a Finnish university network providing a curriculum on co-operative studies. We cover the network´s history, curriculum, structure, funding, and factors motivating student participation and finally discuss how CNS has succeeded in its mission: to establish co-operative education in the curricula of different Finnish universities. The results are two-fold. On the one hand, the network has successfully operated for almost 20 years, provided 16.000 credit points, and worked as an important mutual learning hub for scholars providing teaching on co-operatives. On the other hand, CNS has not managed to institutionalize cooperative education in university curriculum outside of the studies provided in the network as has been its goal, and thus, the continuity of the network is vital. We deduce that the low level of institutionalization can probably be attributed to poor coverage of co-operatives in university level education in general and in university structures that does not favor network studies.Received: 28 April 2023Accepted: 02 October 2023