ROER4D Research Team
Readers of OLTDE are requested to forward any research or case studies that they may have related to the uptake of OERs in sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, copies of any country or institutional policies related to OER would also be much appreciated. Please email: Jennyl@saide.org.za in this regard.

 

Research on Open Educational Resources for Development

Saide is involved in a large research project Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D) being led by the University of Cape Town with funding from the IDRC in Canada. All the researchers from three continents recently gathered in Cape Town for a planning workshop. Maryla Bialobrzeska and Jenny Louw participated in this workshop and provide an overview of the project.

The project is guided by the following research question: In what ways, and under what circumstances can the adoption of OER address the increasing demand for accessible, relevant, high-quality and affordable post-secondary education in the Global South?

The objectives of the project are to:

  • Build an empirical knowledge base on the use and impact of OER focusing on post-secondary education
  • Develop the capacity of OER researchers
  • Build a network of OER scholars                    
  • Communicate research to inform education policy and practice.

The following projects have been identified to respond to the research question:

  • Three desktop reviews of OER projects, policies and research in selected countries in South America, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. In Africa there will be an in-depth review of Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.
  • A survey to understand how people create and use OER in the South.
  • Qualitative and quantitate research to gain an understanding of teachers’ attitudes and motivations towards the use or non-use of OER materials.
  • A focus on collaborative co-creation of OER by teacher educators in India, Columbia and Malaysia.
  • An exploration of the cultural historical factors that influence OER adoption and use in the Mongolian higher education sector.
  • A study by Chile and Singapore exploring the impact that OER has on teaching and education.
  • Research by Columbia and South Africa seeking to understand the value chain and funding flow from public sources into OER.

The project is being led by Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams from the Centre for Educational Technology at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Saide is preparing the sub-Saharan literature review which is intended to provide back ground information for further research in this region. We will also be involved in the educational expenditure cluster together with the South American team.  The countries that we will be researching in this exercise are once again South Africa, Kenya and either Ghana or Uganda.

Saide’s presentation at the workshop focussed on the  initial findings of the desktop review. Highlights reflect that the Sub-Saharan African region is facing significant challenges related to the adoption of OER.  These include linguistic, economic, socio-cultural and infrastructural challenges. With a gross enrolment ratio of just 6% in the higher education sector in sub-Saharan Africa, compared to the international average of 26%, there are insufficient students attending university to spur sustained economic development. Africa also suffers from low broadband penetration, lack of national and institutional IP/OER policies, and a legacy of rote teaching methodologies. However, there are pockets of OER innovation such as the TESSA project (Teacher Education in sub-Saharan Africa), Saide’s OER Africa project, and the African Virtual University (AVU), which is making use of OER in many of their distance education courses.

This article draws from the summarised report on Research Workshop 1 in Cape Town prepared by Henry Trotter, UCT.