Opening up down under: the role of open educational resources in promoting social inclusion in Australia

Article

Bossu, Carina, Bull, David and Brown, Mark. 2012. "Opening up down under: the role of open educational resources in promoting social inclusion in Australia ." Distance Education. 33 (2), pp. 151-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2012.692050
Article Title

Opening up down under: the role of open educational resources in promoting social inclusion in Australia

ERA Journal ID20803
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsBossu, Carina (Author), Bull, David (Author) and Brown, Mark (Author)
Journal TitleDistance Education
Journal Citation33 (2), pp. 151-164
Number of Pages14
Year2012
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Place of PublicationMelbourne, Australia
ISSN0158-7919
1475-0198
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2012.692050
Web Address (URL)http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01587919.2012.692050
Abstract

This article discusses the role of open and distance learning to widen participation and promote social inclusion within Australian higher education, as well as
the benefits that open educational resources (OER) could bring to that context. It also explores some of the most relevant social inclusion policies and related initiatives developed in Australia over the past two decades and their implications for OER. The article then reports the findings of an environmental scan of the use of OER across the higher education sector in Australia as part of a centrally
funded research project. The research identifies a number of misconceptions within the higher education community about the nature of OER and reveals the lack of awareness regarding the potential of OER to close the gap between formal and informal education in Australia. Despite the strong evidence of the educational possibilities of OER, they are yet to play a significant role in promoting social inclusion Down Under.

Keywordsopen educational resources; OER in Australia; social inclusion
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020390203. Sociology of education
390303. Higher education
441001. Applied sociology, program evaluation and social impact assessment
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Byline AffiliationsUniversity of New England
Open Access College
Massey University, New Zealand
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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