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La Nostra Escola Comarcal: An Educational Cooperative in Defense of Democratic, Active and Valencian Pedagogy (Spain 1973)

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This chapter presents the story of La Nostra Escola Comarcal, a school founded in 1973 in the Valencia Region of Spain while the country was still under the Franco dictatorship. At the school’s inception, a group of parents who participated in some of the more innovative educational experiences were seeking to provide their sons and daughters with a more democratic, co-educational experience that was grounded in the local culture and language. Since this kind of education was not possible within the hierarchical structure of public schools, they organized under the cooperative model securing both, the full participation of parents in the school and a democratic organizational model. Educationally, the school was committed to the implementation of active pedagogies, to learn from local culture, and to affirm as well as claim the identity of Valenciano as the regional language. Organizationally, the school was committed to democratic participation of parents, teachers, and students. While the school began by offering only early childhood education, over the years, the matriculation expanded to include both elementary and secondary education. Still a cooperative, today the school is a part of the public school network and is partially financed by the government of Valencia.