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Impact of International Organizations on Governmental OER Policies

PhD Research Presentation, GO-GN Seminar, December 2013, Cape Town, South Africa

igorlesko@ocwconsortium.org Twitter: @igor_lesko

Unless otherwise noted, Impact of International Organizations on Governmental OER Policies by Igor Lesko is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Context: Personal

• Working in the OER field (Openness in Education) for 6 years

OpenCourseWare Consortiumhttp://www.ocwconsortium.org/

Nearly 300 institutions and organizations worldwide advancing development, use and sharing of OER and open educational practices in higher educationOCWC Members present in 49 different countries

The purpose of Open Education Week, organized by OCWC, is to raise awareness of the open education movement and opportunities it creates in teaching and learning worldwide: http://www.openeducationweek.org/

Context: Personal

• Working in the OER field (Openness in Education) for 6 years

• Participated in numerous research projects (impact of OER/OCW, benefits as well as challenges)

Context: Demand for Education Demand versus Supply

By michaelmessina (CCBY-NC-ND)

Tens of thousands of universities would have to be built (with 40 000 students each) in order accommodate growing demand for HE from South American, Asian and African regions

International Council for Open and Distance Learning (2009): Global Trends in Higher Education, Adult and Distance Learning (http://xr.com/zxc9). Accessed 14 May 2013

Context: Rising cost of education and decreasing public funding

By mrchrisadams (CCBY-NC) By marsmet471 (CCBY-NC-SA)

Context: Developments in ICTs: Access to resources anytime, anywhere

By Matt from London (CCBY)

By OER Africa (CCBY)

By thelampnyc (CCBY-NC-ND)

By Ed Yourdon (CCBY-SA)

OER can make education:

• More Accessible • Affordable• Efficient• Contribute to improved quality • Sustainable

While, at the same time, contributing to:

• widening access • expansion of lifelong learning opportunities

Since 2002, thousands of resources released as OER

Role of OER

OER policies in order to advance mainstreaming and uptake of OER practices (openness in education)

Next big step in the OER/OE movement

Impact of International Organizations on Governmental OER Policies

PhD Research

• In the context of widespread budget cuts, growing demand for education, and rising cost of education, governments are searching for new and innovative ways to address the growing demand for post-secondary education while making education more affordable, accessible and of better quality.

• In this context, governments around the world have been proposing strategies or approving policies related to OER (India, Netherlands, Indonesia, USA, Brazil, South Africa, etc).

Why Governmental OER policies?

• IOs increasingly seen as policy actors as opposed to just policy advisors or mediators (Henry et al., 2001)

• National policymaking is still largely mediated by national politics and traditions

However

• It is increasingly linked to globalized policy discourses, pressures from Inter-governmental Organizations (IGOs) and/or global policy networks (INGOs, etc.) (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010)

Why focus on International Organizations (IOs) ?

• While there appears to be consensus about the influence of IOs on national policy making little is known about whether and how these IO’s influences translate into concrete national policies

Why focus on International Organizations (IOs) ?

• What are the key IO OER policy instruments? • What impact have these key IO OER policy instruments

had on Governmental OER policies? • What recommendations, if implemented, would lead to

IO OER policies more effectively supporting governmental OER policies?

Research Questions

Which IOs?

IGOs INGOs

Associations

IOs

Which IGOs?

IGOs

UNESCO

OECD

EC

OIF

COL

IGOs: Instruments to Influence educational policy processes

• Producing policy reports • Providing financial support through loans and funding

initiatives • Data collection and analysis • Offering policy advice• Sponsoring or organizing international/regional

conferences and networks• Providing analytical assistance• Issuing non-binding and biding guidelines or

declarations• Carrying out country and thematic reviews (Balzer and

Martenas 2004; Shuller and Vincent-Lancrin, 2009)

IGOs: Some notable OER Policy Instruments

• UNESCO: Paris OER Declaration

• OECD: Policy Recommendations

• UNESCO/COL: OER handbooks and policy template

• EC: Opening up education

Which IOs?

IGOs INGOs

Associations

IOs

Which INGOs?Selection criteria: Currently influencing global/national educational policy

landscape or potential to do so in the future

INGOs

OER Africa

OPN

OCWC

CC

OER Asia

Which Associations?Selection criteria: Currently influencing global/national educational policy

landscape or potential to do so in the future

Associations

AAOU

AIESAD

ICDE

EADTU

ACDE

INGOs and Associations: Policy Instruments

• Producing policy reports• Providing policy advice• Data collection and analysis• Carrying out country and thematic reviews• Advocacy (national and global levels)• Organizing international conferences and networks• Actively promoting and encouraging OER practices at

HEIs• INGOs and soft law – potential to influence

development of international norms through IGOs for example (Christensen, 2006)

Example: IGO Policy Initiative

Urging governments to openly license publicly funded educational materials: http://goo.gl/OVHiF

Example: IGO Policy Initiative

Policy implications in relation to expanding OER initiatives: http://goo.gl/44G4T

FoundationsIncluded because:

• Early catalytic players in the field (providing seed funding for OER projects)

• Small amount of funding = national initiatives in some cases

• While government funding and policy is more important, it is necessary to document such processes/impact of foundations (part of policy process)

Which Foundations?

Foundations

OSF

Saylor

Hewlett

Gates

Shuttleworth

IDRC

Qatar F.

Foundations: Policy Instruments

• Providing seed funding for new initiatives• Organizing and sponsoring meetings with various

stakeholders• Providing funding for research initiatives in order to

increase impact evidence base (part of policy process)

Which Governments to include in the study?Level of analysis (jurisdictions): provincial/state, national

Netherlands Wales

India Mongolia

South Africa Kenya

Colombia Oman

Indonesia France

Poland Slovenia

USA Brazil

Scotland LithuaniaSenegal

Example of National Policy Initiatives I

Improve ability to deliver education and career training programs: http://goo.gl/2LBFD

Example of National Policy Initiatives II

Address demand through increasing distance teaching offerings and creation of OER

www.dhet.gov.za/

Example of National Policy Initiatives III

Research Methodology Step ICase studies approach

• In relation to IOs and Foundations: • Identification of main policy instruments for

influencing policy developments or changes• Identification of key OER policy instruments at

IOs (to be validated through interviews) and instruments at Foundations to be also validated through interview

Research Methodology Step I

• Interviews with IO representatives (validation of key OER instruments, exploring intended/observed impact of such instruments)

• Interviews with representatives from Foundations (validation of key OER) instruments, exploring intended/observed impact of such instruments

Research Methodology Step II

In relation to Governments• Documenting/researching OER policy

developments that have taken place in the country x (retrospectively plus 4 years)

• Protocolled interviews with Government representatives

Research Methodology Step III

• Based on lessons learnt from Steps 1 & 2 developing recommendations/guidelines in the context of how IOs OER policies/policy instruments could more effectively support governmental OER policies

• Policy analysis framework developed by Rizvi and Lingard (2010): Policy as process as opposed to policy as text document only: Contextual issues; Policy and Textual Issues, Implementation and Outcomes Issues – to be appropriated for interviews with governmental representatives

• Evaluation – IOs OER policy instruments • Delphi Method

• Balzer, C., and Martens, K. (2004). International higher education and the Bologna process: What part does the European Commission play. epsNet 2004 Plenary conference on political science after the EU enlargement, Prague, June. http://www.epsnet.org/2004/pps/Balzer.pdf.

• Christensen, K. R. (2006). International Nongovernmental Organization: Globalization, Policy Learning and Nation-State. Intl Journal of Public Administration (29): 281-303.

• Henry, M., Lingard, B., Rizvi, F. and Taylor, S. (2001.) The OECD, Globalization and Education Policy, Oxford: Pergamon Press.

• Rizvi, F. and Bob, L. (2010). Globalizing Education Policy, New York: Routlege

• Schuller, T. and Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2009). OECD Work in the Internationalization of Higher Education: An Insider Perspective. In Bassett, R.M. and Maldonado, A. (Eds.), International Organizations and higher education policy: Thinking globally, acting locally? (pp. 65-81). New York: Routlege.

References

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