Spin training is certainly a good idea, and is nothing to be feared.
I don't know why spins were removed from the PPL(A) flight test, as it is good fun and not particularly difficult.
I don't agree that it's a waste of time because most spins happen too low to recover. Intentional spinning is also a relatively safe way to get down through an overcast if you are ever caught 'on top' (although you need to ensure that the ceiling ends a reasonable distance above the ground, obviously).
I confess that I have never spun a 172 (deliberately or otherwise
), but my copy of the POH for the 172N indicates that "intentional spins are approved in this airplane within certain restrictions".
No real need for a heavy session at the books, but if you want to do some reading as part of your training two references that you might find helpful are:
(1) Sammy Mason, "Stalls, Spins, and Safety" (McGraw-Hill, 1982);
(2) Dunstan Hadley, "Only Seconds to Live: Pilots' Tales of the Stall and the Spin" (Airlife, 1997)
Have fun,
MLS-12D
P.S. Distaff is right, the 150/152 will usually come out of a spin on its own given half a chance; much like a Schweizer 2-33. I don't recommend the 150/152 because it is not easy to provoke into a spin and unless you know what you are doing you often wind up in a spiral dive, which wastes time and may leave you with a false impression of what a spin looks/feels like. I'd suggest a Piper Tomahawk for your spin training.