Learning on the go: identifying barriers and opportunities for the formation and development of agricultural co-operatives in Australia

This report analyses key patterns emerging from data obtained in the teaching of two courses which were part of the University of Newcastle’s Graduate Certificate in Co-operatives Management and Organisation in 2018. The data set comprises student assignments and reflective reports from these courses, as well as focus group interviews held with past students in 2020. These assignments, reports and interview records are rich in observations regarding some of the key opportunities for and barriers to co-operative formation in the Australian agricultural sector. They also indicate the value of an action learning framework to an emerging pedagogy of co-operative education.