Friday, 12th August 2022
Image courtesy of Monstera, Pexels, see licence
On the 12th August, we celebrate International Youth Day. This year’s theme is ‘Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a world for all ages’. The theme encourages people to think about how to harness the full potential of all generations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Given that youth[1] constitute approximately 16% of the global population, the decisions and investments we make in empowering them are a strong predictor of success in realising sustainable development for societies. However, one of the main barriers to sustainable development is unequal access to high quality education, which disproportionately affects young people. So, it makes sense to ask: how can we create a world where people of all ages have access to the same educational opportunities, and what role are youth playing in this quest? At OER Africa, we strongly believe that part of the answer lies in open learning.
Around the world, youth have held a mirror to society and have questioned the status quo. They have asked important questions about social structures, politics, economics, and power dynamics. Young people are becoming increasingly influential in different spheres, including the education sector. One would be hard-pressed to find a comparable period in history where youth have been able to voice their experiences to such a wide audience and incite change as a collective. The past decade has seen youth ask valid questions about education systems, how they function, and who they serve. Their concerns have stemmed primarily from inequitable access to high quality education. For example, angry youth in Chile recently protested expensive and poor-quality school and university education, echoing South Africa’s #FeesMustFall protests which have raged intermittently since 2015.
High quality education still eludes a significant proportion of the world’s population, even though the right to education is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the United Nations Headquarters’ OpenCon UN in 2018, Rajiv Jhangiani explained,
Many of you will recall these words from Article 26 [of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights]:
‘Everyone has the right to education.’
And yet, over 265 million children are currently out of school.
‘Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.’
And yet, 57 million out-of-school children are of primary school age.
‘Technical and professional education shall be made generally available’
And yet 617 million youth worldwide lack basic mathematics and literacy skills.
‘higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.’
And yet, by 2025 tertiary education worldwide will need to find a way to provide 100 million additional seats.[2]
Done well, open learning can provide part of the answer to the question of how we can rebuild education systems to be more inclusive, accessible, and meaningful. Open learning is an approach to education which has two primary aims: first, it seeks to remove barriers to learning and second, it aims to give students a reasonable chance of success in an education and training system that directly addresses their needs. At its core is the quest to democratise access to quality education, as it seeks to ‘allow as many people as possible to take advantage of affordable and meaningful educational opportunities throughout their lives through: sharing expertise, knowledge, and resources; reducing barriers and increasing access; and acknowledging diversity of context.’[3] This definition is a fundamentally inclusive one that works toward the idea of an education system that serves all.
Saide (nd) highlights the following key principles of open learning, which acknowledges the need for flexible, meaningful, learner-centred education throughout one’s life:
- Learners are provided with opportunities and capacity for lifelong learning
- Learning processes centre on the learners and the contexts of learning, build on their experience and encourage active engagement leading to independent and critical thinking
- Learning provision is flexible, allowing learners to increasingly determine where, when, what and how they learn, as well as the pace at which they will learn
- Prior learning and experience is recognised wherever possible; arrangements for credit transfer and articulation between qualifications facilitate further learning
- Providers create the conditions for a fair chance of learner success through learner support, contextually appropriate resources and sound pedagogical practices.[4]
One of the most well-known elements of the open learning ecosystem is Open Educational Resources (OER), which are teaching, learning, and research resources that exist in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property licence that allows others to use and/or repurpose them. If used to support effective pedagogical practices, OER can make a significant contribution to advancing the principles of open learning (though the use of OER should not be conflated with the adoption of open learning principles).[5] There are several case studies that demonstrate the impact of OER initiatives, including OER Africa’s recent research on OER initiatives in African higher education and our collaboration with the Network of Open Orgs to develop a set of seven case study summaries and accompanying report that explore the successes of OER. This research has demonstrated how OER initiatives have succeeded in improving access to educational materials, mainstreaming the use of OER into institutional practices, and developing resources and research, amongst other successes.
The growth and adoption of OER is also spurring the rise to other notable open movements, such as the Open Access (OA) movement. OA generally refers to research outputs that are distributed online, which are free of cost and may be licensed with a Creative Commons licence to promote reuse. OA journals are growing in popularity, and websites like DOAJ curate and index directories of such journals. OA can be used as OER if the open content is used in a teaching/learning context.
However, the use of open licensing does not automatically lead to better education systems, nor does it allay the need to address educational challenges from multiple angles. Butcher and Hoosen (2019) stress that opening access to educational opportunities through tools like open licensing is only part of the work of creating effective education systems.
'… it is important to recognize that designing and implementing effective educational environments is critically important to good education and encompasses many more dimensions than simply opening access to educational materials using open licensing. Thus, OER should not be regarded as a panacea to challenges facing education systems but are nevertheless a potentially important contributor to bridging gaps in access and equity in education'.[6]
Open learning principles provide a foundation on which we can rebuild education systems to better serve people on their lifelong learning journey, starting with the youth. Open learning is one of the most apt expressions of intergenerational solidarity: when we collectively seek to improve access to and quality of education, we can fully harness human potential and move society towards sustainable development. So, as we celebrate this day, let us also remember that we each have a role to play in this pursuit.
Related articles:
- Researching OER initiatives in African higher education
- Researching the benefits of OER through the Network of Open Orgs
- Empowering youth to transform food systems: the role of OER
- Why is 'Open Education' important?
[1] For these purposes, youth are defined as people between the ages of 15 and 24 years
[2] Taken verbatim from Jhangiani, R. (2018). Open Educational Practices in Service of the Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from https://thatpsychprof.com/open-educational-practices-in-service-of-the-sustainable-development-goals/
[3] OER Africa. (no date) Understanding OER. Retrieved from https://www.oerafrica.org/sites/default/files/2018.08.Web-Understanding%20OER.pdf
[4] Taken verbatim from Saide. (no date). Open Learning - A brief introduction to open learning principles. Retrieved from https://www.saide.org.za/article.php?id=5
[5] See https://www.oerafrica.org/system/files/13409/oer-africa-2019-research-report.pdf?file=1&type=node&id=13409&force=1
[6] Butcher, N. and Hoosen, S. (2019). Harnessing OER Practices to Drive Pedagogical Improvement: The Role of Continuing Professional Development. Retrieved from https://www.oerafrica.org/system/files/13409/oer-africa-2019-research-report.pdf?file=1&type=node&id=13409&force=1
What's New
Funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Saide OER Africa embarks on an impactful project to support the effective development and use of Open Education Resources in higher education systems in selected sub-Saharan African countries. Ashton Maherry, reports on recent travels to Beira, Mozambique, to establish a strategic partnership with UnISCED.
Figure 1: Representatives from OER Africa and UnISCED
As part of Saide’s OER Africa initiative, Ashton Maherry (Saide) and Neil Butcher (Neil Butcher & Associates) recently visited UnISCED to establish a partnership to promote the use of Open Education Resources (OER) at UnISCED. UnISCED (translated as Open University Institute of Sciences and Distance Education) is a Mozambican private higher education institution dedicated exclusively to open and distance education and was established in 2014.
The current William and Flora Hewlett Foundation grant in support of OER Africa, continues its focus of supporting effective development and use of OER in higher education systems in African universities. The project has four outcomes:
1. Development of comprehensive Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Frameworks for academics, senior management and academic librarians.
2. Development of an online collection of Continuous Professional Development Open Education Resources in higher education
3. Collaboration with at least four African universities
4. Establishment of a Continuous Professional Development network
The visit to UnISCED forms part of a planned collaboration with at least four Universities including, Botswana Open University, the University of Namibia and UnISCED and hopefully one other, still to be determined.
Several areas of the strategic partnership were identified during the UnISCED visit, these include the development, implementation and evaluation of policies that support the use of OERs, capacity building of senior management, academics and academic librarians to use OERs to strengthen teaching and learning, the identification of possible free or commercial online resources that can help academics with their teaching and learning materials, such as simulators and virtual labs, and the exciting challenge of translating predominantly English resources to Portuguese. In addition, the possibility of UnISCED becoming a member of the African Association of Librarians (AfLIA) was explored and will be taken forward in the next three months.
UnISCED and Saide are in the process of finalising the Memorandum of Understanding. OER Africa and UnISCED are planning a survey for UnISCED staff to identify focus areas for professional development in relation to OER. A second visit to UnISCED is planned in the next few months to finalise the CPD framework, conduct an awareness-raising session on open licensing to Senior Management and facilitate a training session on how to find, use and adapt OER for academics.
A note on OER Africa's CPD frameworks
This work builds on a series of CPD frameworks we are developing at OER Africa in collaboration with our partners. A CPD framework is a planning guide that supports the career development of higher education professionals. In the case of academics, a framework aims to empower and encourage staff, enhance and develop their pedagogical skills, assist them to reflect, and contribute to quality assurance of the student learning experience (adapted from National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education [2016]).
We have used a wheel structure (Figure 1), with wedges showing the professional development domains and levels of progress (foundation, established, and advanced) aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy (Armstrong, 2020). Each domain is being elaborated with indicators of attainment to align with levels of progress, as well as available openly-licensed materials that can support individual higher education professionals and institutional structures with the CPD. When they are completed, we hope that institutions will (with the support of OER Africa) customise the domains for themselves, develop CPD policies, assess their staff competencies, and provide training to capacitate their staff.
Figure 2: Framework for academics showing possible domains to be supported.
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In conjunction with OER Africa, AfLIA is hosting a panel discussion on the role of Artificial Intelligence and African libraries on 24 April 2023. This webinar is the second in a series of activities that will help build understanding, adaptable knowledge and skills.
Register now
AfLIA has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with OER Africa of Saide to build a sturdy CPD framework that will project African librarians into a new era as change agents and leaders in driving open education, open access and open licensing as critical components for driving quality education and creativity in the continent.
In conjunction with OER Africa, AfLIA is hosting a panel discussion on the role of Artificial Intelligence and African libraries. This webinar is the second in a series of activities that will help build understanding, adaptable knowledge and skills. The first 100 participants can register and join the panel discussion on Zoom. Additional participants will be able to follow it live on YouTube.
Date: Monday, 24th April, 2023
Time: 9.30am UTC | 10.30am WAT | 11.30am CAT | 12.30pm EAT
Registration
This is a free webinar. After completing the registration form, you will receive notification via email with details of how to join the webinar.
Carefully read the section on Technical Requirements to help you prepare adequately for this webinar.
Resource persons
Just as the introduction of personal computers revolutionized access to computing power for everyone, AI technology such as ChatGPT, has made advanced language models widely accessible to a broader audience. The conversation about the implications of such AI has been re-ignited since the launch of ChatGPT. Indeed, AI powered technologies, when embraced, can play a vital role by improving access to information and refining the quality of services provided to patrons. As with every other technology, AI may have some undesirable implications on library education, research and service delivery. The global conversation is an interesting mix of divergent views on AI but not so much has been discussed in the area of its impact on Librarianship, especially within the African context. Stanley will briefly highlight general issues of awareness, perception, adoption and the implications of AI on African library education, research and service delivery.
Stanley Boakye-Achampong is the AfLIA Research Coordinator
English is the dominant language in most OER repositories. The same is true for open access journal literature; many more scientific journals are published in English rather than in other languages. The two noteworthy exceptions are African Storybook (ASb) and StoryWeaver that focus on African languages and Southern Asian respectively.
It has been demonstrated that if children are to be successful in learning to read with comprehension, they should start out in their mother tongue. Adults, too, would benefit by reading content in their own languages. This is particularly true of scientific terms and concepts. The use of language, therefore, has great significance when considering how to make education truly inclusive and equitable—one of the goals of the UNESCO OER Recommendation.
AI can assist authors and readers to read research in their own languages. Liz will discuss efforts to make science inclusive and equitable in African languages, with a focus on research literature and the role of AI in translation.
Liz Levey is an independent consultant and expert in the field of openness and languages
Drs. Nkem Osuigwe and Tony Lelliott will facilitate the discussion.
Technical Requirements
Upon registration, reminders will be sent to all registrants periodically. This webinar will be hosted on the Zoom Conferencing Platform. Participants, who do not have Zoom on their mobile devices and or computers, need to download, install and create an account on Zoom ahead of time. Webinar attendees are encouraged to join early, preferably 15 minutes before the start of the webinar, as one may need time launch the application. The speaker will use a webcam to connect with attendees. Audio and video for the session will be streamed over computer speakers. Attendees are therefore encouraged to connect with a headset or earpiece for maximum utility. Please note that this webinar does not involve a certificate of participation.
The webinar will also be live-streamed on YouTube.
There have been several recent calls for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to take a more prominent role at the higher education level. OER Africa is in the process of developing three CPD frameworks to structure capacity building for academics, academic librarians, and senior management in higher education institutions.
Continuous professional development (CPD) frameworks for professionals in Higher Education
The need for CPD in higher education
CPD is ‘professional learning that results in changes to [academics’] knowledge and practices, and improvements in student learning outcomes’ (after Darling-Hammond et al. 2017). There have been several recent calls for CPD to take a more prominent role at higher education (HE) level (e.g. Mihai, 2021; Bruzga, 2022), that highlight the following:
- Professional development planning should be strategic: it should become a fundamental part of the academics’ annual activities, and not a mere “extracurricular” undertaking for a few interested staff.
- Institutions should consider developing a system of incentives and rewards that encourages staff to focus on their teaching.
- Institutions that already offer CPD should evaluate their offerings to determine whether they are the right fit for the current needs of the institution.
- Where feasible, faculties and schools should encourage communities of practice so that professionals can share their experiences, and support and empower each other
Barriers to participation in CPD
Despite the needs, there is evidence that higher education professionals rarely participate in CPD due to barriers such as:
- A reluctance to renounce teaching practices with which they are familiar. Similarly, innovative teaching practices are not normally a requirement for appointment, or for career progression.
- The absence of inducements for self-development in higher education institutions (HEIs).
- A lack of time.
- HEIs’ lack of pedagogical expertise and institutional capacity to develop effective CPD schemes.
Since the need for CPD is great, and many institutions either lack the capacity to provide it or carry it out in an ad hoc manner, OER Africa is in the process of developing three CPD frameworks to structure capacity building for academics, academic librarians, and senior management in HEIs.
CPD frameworks
A CPD framework is a planning guide that supports the career development of higher education professionals. In the case of academics, a framework aims to empower and encourage staff, enhance and develop their pedagogical skills, assist them to reflect, and contribute to quality assurance of the student learning experience (adapted from National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education [2016]).
The CPD frameworks we are developing at OER Africa, in collaboration with our partners such as the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA), are adapted from the British Council’s CPD framework for teacher educators. We have used a wheel structure (Figure 1), with wedges showing the professional development domains and levels of progress (foundation, established, and advanced) aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy (Armstrong, 2020). Each domain is being elaborated with indicators of attainment to align with levels of progress, as well as available openly-licensed materials that can support individual HE professionals and institutional structures with the CPD. When they are completed, we hope that institutions will (with the support of OER Africa) customise the domains for themselves, develop CPD policies, assess their staff competencies, and provide training to capacitate their staff.
Figure 1: Framework for academics showing possible domains to be supported.
The initiative is in its early stages. OER Africa is currently collaborating with a few African universities to tailor the framework to their own needs, and discuss policy development and implementation. Concurrently, we are identifying and evaluating relevant CPD OER available worldwide, with a view to making them available in a repository to support institutions that would like to develop their staff. Once completed, a full set of frameworks will be made available on the OER Africa website, together with associated OER to allow institutions to modify them to suit their own contexts. We welcome comment on the initiative as it develops; you can email us on the form available at https://www.oerafrica.org/contact.
Related research report: Continuous Professional Development strategies in Higher Education Institutions
The following publications were drawn on to create this blog post:
British Council. (nd). Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework for teacher educators https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/4204_BritishCouncil_CPD_Teacher_Educators_FINAL_040222.pdf.
Bruzga, L. (2022). Why Professional Development in Higher Ed Requires Regular Revisions. EdTech Focus on Higher Education. https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2022/03/why-professional-development-higher-ed-requires-regular-revisions
Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., Gardner, M. (2017). Effective Teacher Professional Development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.
Inamorato dos Santos, A., Gaušas, S., Mackevičiūtė, R., Jotautytė, A., Martinaitis, Ž. (2019). Innovating Professional Development in Higher Education: An analysis of practices, EUR 29676 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, ISBN 978-92- 76-00580-3, doi:10.2760/26224, JRC115622.
Mihai, A. (2021). This pandemic must bring faculty development to the fore. Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/pandemic-must-bring-faculty-development-fore
National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (2016). National Professional Development Framework for all staff who teach in Higher Education. Dublin. https://hub.teachingandlearning.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/NF-2016-National-Professional-Development-Framework-for-all-Staff-Who-Teach-in-Higher-Education.pdf.
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