Learning to co-operate: youth engagement with the co-operative revival in Africa

Hartley, Sally and Johnson, Hazel (2013). Learning to co-operate: youth engagement with the co-operative revival in Africa. European Journal of Development Research (Advance Online Publication).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2013.39

Abstract

Co-operatives are seen to offer alternatives for individuals to improve livelihoods. However they have a mixed record, especially in Africa. Initially controlled by the state, many co-operatives did not survive with the advent of structural adjustment policies. However there is now a revival. In parallel, some countries have policies to engage youth in co-operatives. Can co-operatives, as socially-oriented businesses, throw off their history and provide an opportunity for youth? This article examines this question by combining extensive field data from youth co-operatives in Uganda and Lesotho with situated learning and human development theories. It finds that contemporary co-operatives and their networks provide an ‘expanded learning space’ for youth, although there is differentiation by education and gender and type of co-operative. The article makes a novel contribution to debates about co-operatives in development and their potential to provide an alternative route for youth futures.

Viewing alternatives

Metrics

Item Actions

Export

You can export this page using these formats Digital Object Identifier - DOI