19世紀末イギリスにおける生活協同組合の教育活動

－オックスフォード大学拡張委員会との連携を中心に－

抄録

  At the end of the 19th Century there was a rich associational culture among the working class in Britain. The Co-operative Societies were one such association. The Co-operative movement was started by the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers' Society (established in 1844) to implement Owenite ideals, and put emphasis upon education for their members.

  This paper attempts to reveal the process of the development of co-operative education with the Co-operative Union and Oxford University Extension from the 1880s to the 1890s, analyse the debate about co-operative education, and clarify the educational work planed and carried out by them.

  After the Foster Act of 1870, elementary education was provided by the state, leaving co-operative educators to consider what part of education was to be undertaken by them. At the Fourteenth Annual Co-operative Congress, Arnold Toynbee proposed “education of the citizen” and B. Jones said “technical instruction in co-operation,” “the systematic teaching of the principles and practice of co-operation,” and “the making of perfect co-operators”.

  After that congress, important steps in the organisation of educational committees and educational policies of Jones' plan were realized. The educational committee of the Co-operative Union and sections were established. Those committees played leading roles in co-operative education. Subjects included Co-operation, Industrial History, Citizenship, and Bookkeeping. At the end of 1890s, reforms in co-operative education were suggested. New educational works were provided in cooperation with the educational committee of the Union and Oxford University Extension Delegacy.