ABSTRACT
One of the distinguishing features of the cooperative movement and, in general, initiatives linked to the social and solidarity economy is the importance attributed to education. To the extent that they share the aim of a more or less profound social transformation, they consider that education that improves people's participatory and critical capacity plays a fundamental role. As described below, in recent decades proposals for implementing cooperative learning (CL) in schools have substantially increased in many countries, but the predominant trend is not connected with projects for social change. Such projects do not identify significantly with CL practices that do not fully incorporate cooperative values. Within this general framework, this chapter aims to reflect on the conceptualisation and impact of the Anglo-Saxon concept of “cooperative learning”, which clearly predominates in Spanish and Italian schools that apply cooperation between pupils, and contrast it with the francophone concept of “pédagogies coopératives”. To conclude, it examines areas in which CL could converge with the social and solidarity economy.
