Popular Education and Social Movements in Scotland Today

Like many other societies, Scotland is facing choices in striking the balance between market and democratic definitions of citizenship, competition and co-operation, difference and solidarity, rights and responsibilities. The outcome of these choices remains open and undecided - and the prospects for human well-being deeply ambivalent. Can Scotland today pose the threat of a good example? This book is concerned with the role of adult education as an agent of progressive social and political change. Although focused on Scotland, the book is written for a wider audience and makes a distinctive contribution to the debate about the meaning and purpose of radical adult education in the contemporary world. After examining the relationship between popular education and social change, there are historical accounts of the Socialist Sunday School movement, of women's' struggles in and out of the Dundee jute industry, and of the experience of the Muslim community in Scotland. Other chapters cover the struggle of the disability movement for inclusion, the campaigns of the Assynt Crofters and the islanders of Eigg for self-determination, the fight for gender equality in the Scottish Parliament, and the potential contribution of trade union education, environmental politics and cultural action for the process of democratic renewal. This book will be of interest to academics, students, trainers and practitioners in adult and community education and all those committed to radical adult education.