Tamaka Fisher's MET ePortfolio
Understanding the Social Justice Landscape of Open Educational Practice: Annotated Bibliography
Tamaka I. Fisher
Department of Education, University of British Columbia
ETEC 565P: MET Practicum
Dr. Leah Macfadyen
October 14, 2022
Azadbakht, E., Schultz, T., & Arellano, J. (2021). Not open for all: Accessibility of open textbooks. Insights the UKSG
Insights the UKSG Journal, 34(1), 24. https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.557
This quantitative research article addresses the social justice challenge of the inaccessibility of open educational resources (OER) to persons with visual, neurological, cognitive, and other conditions that necessitate screen-reading technologies for text and images. Azadbakht et al. refer to US and international legislation and conventions supporting eradicating information and communications technology barriers. They discuss the emphasis on the creation and adoption of OER and the dearth of research on the technological accessibility of existing OERs. The researchers performed a literature review and then graded 355 textbooks against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). They assessed each OER using a 16-point rubric employing accessibility-checker technology tools and awarded a pass/fail grade. The researchers found that OERs performed poorly in alternative text (20% passing) and coded elements (25% passing). Descriptive headings and labels received the highest number of passes at over 90%. This research is necessary because it shows a social justice issue with the lack of attention to accessibility practices in creating OER materials. A study limitation is the high percentage of resources originating in North America.
Charitonos, K., Rodriguez, C. A., Witthaus, G., & Bossu, C. (2020). Advancing social justice for asylum seekers and
refugees in the UK: An open education approach to strengthening capacity through Refugee Action’s Frontline Immigration Advice Project. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 11(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.563
Charitonos et al. take a social justice lens to study how open education supports those working in the non-profit sector. Due to government reforms, immigrants in the UK found themselves with diminished access to free legal aid. This qualitative article describes a project that seeks to assist refugees and asylum seekers in the UK by increasing the capacity of caseworkers at Refugee Action and supporting organizations using open education. The study interviewed 16 leaders and case workers (staff and volunteers) between 2018 and 2019 who had taken open education training through the Refugee Action Frontline Immigration Action Project. Results highlighted six dimensions to undergird learning opportunities and describe open education as increasing participation in scholarship, decreasing costs, and increasing inclusion and democracy. The authors shift the conversation on open education from creation and adoption to the societal good created by the end users. This article is essential to my research as it takes a different viewpoint; social justice and societal effects generated by the learner. Limitations to the study were a small sample size with a specialized context. Two of the four researchers received payment from the Refugee Action organization. One of those two also worked for the organization, creating a potential conflict of interest and bias.
Colvard, N. B., Watson, C. E., & Park, H. (2018). The impact of open educational resources on various student
success metrics. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 30(2), 262-276.
In this quantitative study, Colvard et al. look at the disparities in college degree attainment rates between White and BIPOC students and seeks to understand the impact of OER on academic achievement. The authors hypothesized that students from marginalized backgrounds receiving financial assistance would benefit from free textbooks and that all students would perform higher in courses with OER textbooks than traditional texts. The researchers analyzed data from one university's Fall 2010 to Fall 2016 semesters and disaggregated them for ethnicity, full/part-time status, and socioeconomic status. The researchers found that introducing OER textbooks (from OpenStax) decreased the number of marginalized students withdrawing and receiving D and F letter grades. White students' grades improved with using OER as well. This study is necessary as it provides reliable (large-scale) quantitative data supporting the benefits, beyond cost, of OER. Two limitations were a specialized context (one U.S. university) and the extent to which the OER use affected individual assignment grades could not be measured. Another study limitation was removing any ethnically Asian students from the data.
Cox, G., Masuku, B., & Willmers, M. (2020). Open textbooks and social justice: Open educational practices to
address economic, cultural and political injustice at the University of Cape Town. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 1(2), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.556
This article is a mixed methods study examining how OER and open educational practice (OEP) do or do not promote social justice in the classroom. Cox et al. present information from their Digital Open Textbooks for Development (DOT4D) project at a university in South Africa. The data originates from interviews with five OET authors, thirteen surveys, and over one year of notes chronicling interactions with the OET community. The researchers recognize the current power dynamics and gatekeeping inherent in textbook selection in higher education and use political, economic, and cultural lenses to discuss systems of power that, unless recognized and subverted, prevent marginalized authors and students from the “parity of participation.” This article is vital to my project as it addresses OER decolonization via student authoring as an open education practice. Limitations of this study are the small sample size, the majority of whom were white males (54%), and the specialized context (one university in the Global South).
Cronin, C. (2017). Openness and praxis: Exploring the use of open educational practices in higher education.
International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 18(5), 15-34. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i5.3096
One Irish university is the context for this qualitative research using constructivist grounded theory. In this study, Cronin investigates the use or lack of use of OEP in an institution that does not have an open education policy. The author finds a dearth of empirical research on OEP and focuses the research there rather than on OER. The author uses the foundations of sociocultural and social realist theories to frame openness in the higher education context. The researcher begins with a literature review, searching for different interpretations of the meaning of openness in practice, and then engages faculty across various disciplines in her research. Cronin proposes four main dimensions of openness in higher education as being: "open admission, open as free, open educational resources (OER), and open educational practice (OEP)." The author's argument includes framing OEP as consisting of “open digital identity, social media integration, using both a virtual learning environment and open tools, using and reusing OER, and valuing privacy and openness”. In the study, the author diversified participants across gender, learning areas (STEM and the Arts, Social Sciences, Business, and Law), and employment (full-time, fixed-term, and part-time). The research confirmed apprehension and a spectrum of practice among educators ranging from closed to open. This article is needed for my research as it references the expanding breadth of open scholarship, and the findings of the perception of risks and rewards corroborate existing survey results in the Canadian Digital Learning Research Association reports I will be referencing. Study limitations were the small sample size (19 educators) and the specialized context.
Funes, M., & Mackness, J. (2018). When inclusion excludes: A counter narrative of open online education. Journal
of Educational Media, 43(2), 119-138. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2018.1444638
This article is a position paper that is important to my research as it provides a dissenting voice to the narrative that OEP is the path to social justice in education. Funes and Mackness point out that the algorithms of social media elevate popular ideas to the detriment of alternative ideas and marginalized voices. The researchers argue that online learning ideology's hidden and aspirational norms may work against inclusiveness. They reveal that the etiquette used for online communication (be nice) subverts the opportunity for open critique, counter-narratives, and discomfort, thereby promoting homophily. The authors investigate research literature, then mine Twitter conversations, looking for patterns to the types of communication. They then use a technology tool, Thought Condensr, to create a list of patterns of interactions and come up with 10, three of which are “Fawning Adoration Or (Thankful Cheering); Always Updating Or (Keeping Network Informed), and Got Trolled? Your fault Or, (They May Have a Positive Intent)”. The authors put forth that much of this operational norm is embedded and operates below users’ self awareness. The authors conclude that total inclusion is unobtainable, and instead we should be intentional in our actions.
Jenkins, J. J., Sánchez, L. A., Schraedley, M. A. K., Hannans, J., Navick, N., & Young, J. (2020). Textbook broke:
Textbook affordability as a social justice issue. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 1(3), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.549
This quantitative study takes place in a Californian, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) four-year university. Twenty-five percent of a school's full-time student population must be ethnically Hispanic or Latino to be accredited as an HSI. Seventy percent of students at this institution relied on student loans to attend. Jenkins et al. surveyed over 700 broadly diverse and primarily underserved students, recruited through convenience and snowball sampling, and measured the cost-of-textbook impacts on student stress and other factors. The research confirms that textbook affordability is a social justice issue. LatinX students, those accessing student loans, and first-generation college students rated higher on all education burden types compared to White students, those not needing financial support, and non-first-generation students. Bias is not detected. This article is elemental as it is a large study that supports my research but also refers to other categories of OER research that have gained traction in recent years for future areas of research interest. The limitation of the study is the specialized context of one US college.
Morgan, T. (2019). Instructional designers and open education practices: Negotiating the gap between intentional
and operational agency. Open Praxis, 11(4), 369-380. https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.11.4.1011
This qualitative research study, part one of a two-stage project, explores the role of instructional designers (ID) in implementing OEP in 25 British Columbian post-secondary institutions. Morgan used interviews and thematic analyses in a sociocultural framework and argued that IDs perceive that clarity in their roles would benefit from senior leadership direction in their institutions. The study highlights the tensions between what the IDs feel their role is as advocates of open educational practice and the perception that faculty have of them as mere technicians. The researcher distinguishes the disconnect between two types of agencies, operational and intentional, that may lead to roadblocks in progression. This research is essential to my project as it uncovers the adoption of OEP and OER suffering on various fronts without a sanctioned strategy. Therefore, the author suggests that formal recognition of the importance of OEP will be needed to fold it into the DNA of the institutional ethos. The limitations of the study include the small sample size and the participating institutions being all BC-based.
Nusbaum, A. T. (2020). Who gets to wield academic Mjolnir?: On worthiness, knowledge curation, and using the
power of the people to diversify OER. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 1(4), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.559
This quantitative study explores the dominant colonial, white, male, cis-hetero, able-bodied culture dominating many areas of academia and asks who is worthy of authoring textbooks. The nature of the question implies that some are not. The author argues that the lack of diversity in the authorship and narratives of OER excludes the minority marginalized voices and the presence of BIPOC and LGBTQ2SIA+ persons and White women. The researcher contends that where traditional textbooks are difficult to update, updating the inclusivity of OERs is achievable. The article provides an example of student collaboration that resulted in educational resources where students could see themselves and thus see their belonging in an academic milieu and career. OERs are assumed to be socially just due to their zero-dollar cost to students, but the cost is only one variable in the quest for accessibility and inclusivity. The researcher, working with OpenStax (a non-profit publisher of OER in the US), developed a project to diversify a psychology textbook. The researcher crowdsourced modifications to an existing textbook using Pressbooks. A large sample (405 students) were surveyed after reading either an original or modified passage in the text. The results showed that students reading the modified version had a higher sense of belonging. This study is essential to my research as variables such as race/ethnicity and first-generation college student status are disaggregated. A study limitation is the specialized context and lack of external validity, which is not uncommon given the dearth of empirical research on OER and open educational practice specifically tied to ethnic and gendered identities.
Osborne, T. (2019). Not lazy, not faking: Teaching and learning experiences of university students with disabilities.
Disability & Society, 34(2), 228-252. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2018.1515724
This article is a medium-scale mixed methods study that took place in 2017. One hundred and five students with recent higher education experience who self-identified as having an impairment were invited through social media to engage in an online survey with Likert-scale and open questions. While the survey questions were related to higher education, they were not related to open education. The study is still crucial to my research as it highlights the accessibility challenges faced by students with both visible and invisible impairments when intersected with barriers causing disabling experiences. The authors illustrate that students facing epistemic ignorance and other attitudinal barriers have difficulty receiving the support they are entitled to in higher education and face stigma and discrimination instead. The needs of students with impairments should be a key consideration when developing resources and strategies for open education to tackle social injustice. The article is important to my research as persons encountering disabling experiences face both technological and course delivery barriers. Some limitations of the study include a gender imbalance, and high cultural and racial homogeneity, and most participants cited mental health challenges (51%), although 31% of those were co-morbid with other conditions. Bias is not detected.
Otto, D. (2022). How to promote the use of open educational resources (OER) in higher education. A parley
with OER Experienced Teachers. Open Praxis, 13(4), 354–364. http://doi.org/10.55982/openpraxis.13.4.264
The author argues that instead of researching barriers to OER adoption, searching for wisdom from instructors who successfully use OERs in their teaching practice is more beneficial. This mixed methods study surveys thirty-two experienced higher education teachers in Germany, with 20 of those agreeing to be involved in a focus group discussion. The findings support the use of incentives as opposed to obligations. A surprising outcome is that the top priority for teachers is to be provided with free legal advice on the use and development of OERs. The second priority is creating an OER meta-search engine that connects other higher education institutions, and the third priority is financial incentives to create OERs. Instructors also suggest that one OER point person be present at each institution. This study will support my research as the survey questions are in-depth, and potential solutions to OER creation and adoption are suggested. Limitations of this study are the small sample size, specific context (higher education in Germany), no control group, group surveys where participant ideas may be influenced or dominated by others, and group distillation of results (increasing the potential for bias).
Sanga, K., & Reynolds, M. (2020). Knowledge guardianship, custodianship and ethics: A Melanesian perspective.
AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 16(2), 99-107. https://doi.org/10.1177/1177180120917481
This qualitative article unpacks questions about private (secret) Indigenous knowledge- who the knowledge keepers are and their responsibilities, who owns the knowledge, and who is eligible to learn it. The context is one Indigenous community in the Solomon Islands and one meeting in 2015 between the principal researcher and key Gula’ala clan members. The article is essential to my research as ethical care must be taken with Indigenous communities when encountering information that should not be shared publicly through publishing. Copyrighted research of traditional knowledge may remove ownership from individuals, families, and communities and publishing in OER may also be inappropriate. The study methodology includes a literature review followed by discussions regarding knowledge categorization, positional relationality, authority and seniority, and Indigenous concepts of conservatorship. Sanga and Reynolds identify three types of Indigenous knowledge: public, specialized, and sacred, and the two principles of conservatorship: stewardship and seniority. The specialized context is a limitation of the study.
Veletsianos, D. G., VanLeeuwen, D. C. A., Belikov, O., & Johnson, D. N. (2021). An Analysis of Digital Education in
Canada in 2017-2019 . The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 22(2), 102-117. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v22i2.5108
This article is a qualitative study informed by the Canadian Digital Learning Research Association (CDLRA) 2017 to 2019 surveys administered to Canadian higher education institutions. Open educational resources are among the digital learning topics discussed in the paper. The authors illustrate modalities of support, the existence of institutional policies and strategies, and faculty interest in using OER. The article is crucial to my research as it contains detailed explanations of the methods used to support rigor in the analysis of qualitative data and the lack of responses connected to OEP in their findings. A limitation presented by the authors is that respondents may change year-to-year, which limits the ability to generalize between and within institutions.