Funding Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: A South African Public Policy Perspective
The direct crediting of book allowances to student accounts was, among other reasons, underpinned by the belief that students would be able to substitute prescribed study material with online content. The article attempts to understand if the local open educational resources (OER) funding policy env...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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Series: | Social Sciences |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/1/49 |
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author | Nduduzo C. Ndebele Mfundo Mandla Masuku Victor H. Mlambo |
author_facet | Nduduzo C. Ndebele Mfundo Mandla Masuku Victor H. Mlambo |
author_sort | Nduduzo C. Ndebele |
collection | DOAJ |
description | The direct crediting of book allowances to student accounts was, among other reasons, underpinned by the belief that students would be able to substitute prescribed study material with online content. The article attempts to understand if the local open educational resources (OER) funding policy environment was prepared for this significant transformation. The paper applied a critical theory paradigm and a documentary research strategy to identify policy-level documents on OER funding in the South African higher education sector. Content analysis was then applied to review what they said about OER funding. These outcomes were then measured against the National Policy Development Framework 2020, which also dominated the study’s conceptual framework. The study’s significant findings were that the OER funding policy did not meet the policymaking principles of the framework, and this exposed Higher Education to a poorly funded OER environment. The study recommended hastening the finalization of OER policy and the flexible application of current policy terms to include OER as a fundable higher education cause. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:15:30Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-fea26f0ecb8c41719b227816ffa755bd |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2076-0760 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:15:30Z |
publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Social Sciences |
spelling | doaj.art-fea26f0ecb8c41719b227816ffa755bd2023-12-01T00:34:05ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602023-01-011214910.3390/socsci12010049Funding Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: A South African Public Policy PerspectiveNduduzo C. Ndebele0Mfundo Mandla Masuku1Victor H. Mlambo2School of Management, IT and Governance, Department of Public Governance, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South AfricaSchool of Built Environment and Development Studies, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South AfricaSchool of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg P.O. Box 524, South AfricaThe direct crediting of book allowances to student accounts was, among other reasons, underpinned by the belief that students would be able to substitute prescribed study material with online content. The article attempts to understand if the local open educational resources (OER) funding policy environment was prepared for this significant transformation. The paper applied a critical theory paradigm and a documentary research strategy to identify policy-level documents on OER funding in the South African higher education sector. Content analysis was then applied to review what they said about OER funding. These outcomes were then measured against the National Policy Development Framework 2020, which also dominated the study’s conceptual framework. The study’s significant findings were that the OER funding policy did not meet the policymaking principles of the framework, and this exposed Higher Education to a poorly funded OER environment. The study recommended hastening the finalization of OER policy and the flexible application of current policy terms to include OER as a fundable higher education cause.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/1/49open educational resourceshigher educationfundingSouth Africa |
spellingShingle | Nduduzo C. Ndebele Mfundo Mandla Masuku Victor H. Mlambo Funding Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: A South African Public Policy Perspective Social Sciences open educational resources higher education funding South Africa |
title | Funding Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: A South African Public Policy Perspective |
title_full | Funding Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: A South African Public Policy Perspective |
title_fullStr | Funding Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: A South African Public Policy Perspective |
title_full_unstemmed | Funding Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: A South African Public Policy Perspective |
title_short | Funding Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: A South African Public Policy Perspective |
title_sort | funding open educational resources in higher education a south african public policy perspective |
topic | open educational resources higher education funding South Africa |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/1/49 |
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