협동조합의 시민교육적 기능에 관한 연구 : iCOOP소비자생활협동조합 사례를 중심으로 = (A) study on the civic education of cooperative association

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study analyzed the effects(functions) and limits of cooperative associations, which have been noticed as a social and economic alternative in terms of civic education. The purpose of civic education is that students grow as decent members of the society who appreciate the values of democracy and internalize the democratic way of life, willing to participate in the community realizing their rights and responsibilities as citizens. Cooperatives are autonomous associations of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs. This has been run democratically, presenting the quality as an alternative social movement, accompanied by consistent internal education and secondary effects in the course of a variety activities and the process of running cooperatives.
With their distinct ideological orientation, cooperatives separate themselves from traditional social organizations and share context with civic education which aims to raise students' civil awareness.
With the basis of overseas case studies, the educational activities are classified under formal and informal education categories and then applied to domestic iCOOP Comsumer Cooperative case; formal educational activities include internally and externally organized education courses while informal education activities include the use of media, hands-on experience events, small group activities, decision-making process, campaign, and social movements.
iCOOP Consumer Cooperative provides their members with the opportunity to be educated through both formal and informal educational systems, making a normal homemaker to be an aggressive activist or a lone individual actively take part in civil movements realizing what a community really means. Through formal educational activities, students understand what cooperative and iCOOP Consumer Cooperative are and internalize the value of autonomy, democracy, and cooperation, while informal educational activities enable them to understand what a community really is, get interests in social issues, as well as to be an activist with lots of experiences from small group activities at their town, learn the process of decision-making process, finally experience the change in their awareness towards the society through campaigns and social movements related to their own lives.
Furthermore, as a business activity, with their educational values and consistent economic support, it is very much likely for iCOOP Consumer Cooperative to overcome the limits that traditional institutions have shown. Also, iCOOP Consumer Cooperative has a number of implications in terms of civic education on social and school education levels since they encourage voluntary participation and cooperation, entailing the cultivation of students' citizenship.
However, it is questionable whether the educational activities are effective enough to handle the radical increase in the number of its members along with its popularity. This is clearly seen when compared to the degree of how much regular cooperative members are involved with their cooperatives when it comes to the participation in the educational activities, how important they think the educational activities are, and the difference between regular members and activists when it comes to the understanding of civic education of iCOOP Consumer Cooperative. How much regular cooperative members recognize the value that iCOOP Consumer Cooperative pursues as a business association along with their orientation towards a more desirable society is closely tied to the identity of a cooperative, which requires further studies.