Co-operatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operative. they inform the general public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature and benefits of co-operation.

The co-operative movement has a long-standing and distinguished commitment to education. education is one of its founding principles. the original rules of conduct of the rochdale Pioneers published in the Pioneers' annual almanac required: "that a definite percentage of profits should be allotted to education". the commitment to education has been one of the co-operative movement's core Principles since they were first formulated.

Early co-operators lived in societies where education was reserved for the privileged. they recognised then, as today, that education was fundamental to transforming lives. It is a key to enlightenment and social progress. early co-operators recognised their responsibility to help educate their members and their families by allocating part of their co-operative's trading surplus to education.

The development of the rochdale model of co-operation and the operating practices subsequently defined as the rochdale Principles are the direct result of education and learning. the Pioneers spent over a year developing their model of co-operation, learning from the experiences of the pioneers of co-operation from the time of robert owen, and with guidance from key co-operative figures such as George Jacob holyoake. there are clear links between principles adopted by the Pioneers and those that were developed by the Co-operative Congress of 1832, which robert owen chaired. this shows that the Pioneers developed ideas rather than initiated them, a matter about which they themselves were always clear.

The Pioneers are also known to have read "the Co-operator", a penny pamphlet published in 28 monthly issues between May 1828 and August 1830 by Dr William King, a physician working with the poor in brighton, england. Dr King was a strong advocate of education for the working class and supported the founding in 1825 of a Mechanic's Institute, known as the brighton Institute, where he was a frequent lecturer, which advocated the development of co-operatives. there is also evidence that at least some of the Pioneers attended lectures at an owenite Co-operative School that operated in Salford near Manchester from the 1830s.

The ingredient that transformed half a century's experimentation with co-operation into a successful business model, subsequently replicated throughout the world, was a willingness to share experience and learn from earlier successes, failures, and setbacks. Without such sharing of ideas and experience it is unlikely that today's diverse co-operative movement would have emerged. Co-operative education also played a central role in the growth of the raiffeisen, Antigonish, and Mondragon movements. education was and remains the lifeblood of all co-operatives and a driver of co-operative development.

When the Pioneers gained full control of the building in which they opened their first store on toad Lane in rochdale, England, which is now the rochdale Pioneers Museum, they changed the first floor into a reading room for members. the earliest co-operators were quick to embrace the technologies emerging at the time from magic lantern slide shows to pioneering the use of film as an educational and informational tool. following the example of the rochdale Pioneers, co-operatives established lending libraries and reading rooms, pioneered distance learning and forged partnerships with universities and others to extend the reach of their programmes.

Co-operative education needs to be equally as bold, innovative and imaginative today, embracing the opportunities provided by new technologies, strengthening links with universities to encourage research, and using education to disseminate research findings to inform policy makers, members, and the wider public. Successful co-operative education needs to be adaptable and never forget its core purpose, namely to develop a deeper understanding of the nature and benefits of co-operation today and tomorrow.

Co-operative education was the ingredient that transformed the vision and aspirations of the pioneers of today's global co-operative movement into success. the co-operative movement is not a rules-based movement, but a values and principles-based movement. Co-operators need to understand the principles that are the creative foundation of all co-operatives and learn to apply them in today's fast changing world. formal learning combined with informal learning from practical experience remains essential in building successful co-operative businesses today. effective co-operative education programmes can support the renaissance and renewal of an established co-operative movement and help unlock the vision and energies of a new generation, revealing how the co-operative model can be applied to today's and tomorrow's challenge of building a better world.