Thesis

Theorising education in intentional communities: an integrated social movement learning and education framework.

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2026
Thesis identifier
  • T17999
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 202088285
Qualification Level
Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • Conventionally, educational theory examines formal institutions or informal learning, leaving an underexplored educational space: intentional communities, which are residential groups organised around shared values and purpose. This research addresses this gap through a qualitative case study of the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland, which explicitly positions itself as an educational community demonstrating alternative ways of living. The study develops an Integrated Social Movement Learning and Education (I-SMLE) framework, synthesising field theory (Bourdieu), social movement learning theory and theory of education to capture how intentional communities function simultaneously as distinctive social fields with specific rules and capital requirements, social movements demonstrating prefigurative alternatives and educational spaces embedding learning in daily life. Through a thematic analysis of founders' memoirs and publications (1960-1980s) and semi-structured interviews, this research examines how founders' visions became institutionalised and how contemporary members experience the educational dimensions of community life, to derive insights for education theory. Key findings reveal that education operates through distributed educator authority, experiential and collective epistemologies and dissolution of boundaries between learning and living. The research generates three primary contributions: the I-SMLE framework as a transferable analytical tool for studying education in alternative contexts, the Nested Contexts model visualising how members engage across multiple scales from individual spiritual practice to collective movement participation and theoretical insights proposing that intentional communities may, among other aspects, sustain themselves by transmitting the capacity for ongoing field reconstruction rather than rigid preservation. Critically, while Findhorn demonstrates pedagogical innovations and integrates ecological and community living capacities, it can also be a space of implicit exclusion through economic, cultural, and temporal capital requirements. This research advances understanding of how educational processes operate beyond formal institutions while revealing inherent tensions between egalitarian ideals and inevitable power dynamics in alternative educational spaces.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Lewin, David (Educator)
Resource Type
DOI

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