Globally Networked Union Education and Labour Studies: the past, present and future

The literature on globally networked learning environments (GNLEs) has predominantly focused on research or classroom partnerships in higher education that usually involve traditional students enrolled in traditional degree programmes. However, the driving motivation behind GNLEs – learning in partnership across institutional and national boundaries to address issues of globalization – also has significant relevance for global labour education. To what extent, then, are labour educators taking advantage of such partnered learning environments to learn with and from each other across national boundaries? In order to explore this issue, this article provides a historical overview of e-learning initiatives in labour education to identify the challenges labour educators may need to address in order to facilitate such partnered learning environments.