Insights on OER adoption models to inform ways of opening up learning materials to address economic, cultural and political injustices in South African education

Abstract

This chapter outlines current models of open educational resources (OER) adoption, in order to make recommendations to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) around which model(s) could be introduced as a means of open learning in the local post-school education and training (PSET) sector in an attempt to respond to economic, cultural, and political injustices. Using the philosophical framework of social justice (Fraser, 2005), this desktop study explores the extent to which models of OER implementation respond to economic, cultural, and political injustices and could potentially provide more socially just access to educational resources in the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and university sectors. The OER models are classified along the following lines: regional-geographic, the federal government, provincial, inter-institutional, institutional, intra-institutional, community, and commercial. Findings showcase examples of each of these and illustrate how an aggregated model which combines elements of a central model (for national funding), a provincial model (for funding to a managing institution for multi-institutional projects), an institutional model (for OER development with a social justice intent), and a peer-to-peer community model could encourage peer engagement that might optimise the nascent National Open Learning System (NOLS) spearheaded by DHET. This aggregated model is recommended for DHET as it holistically considers economic challenges facing OER creation and use, endeavours to encourage curriculum transformation by addressing aspects of culturalmisrecognition and, where possible, includes student voices to allow for some facets of political representation.