Early open educational practice (OEP) research and projects uncritically promoted openness as a ideological societal good contrasted against traditional educational systems predicated on economies of scarcity, and systemic inequality in access to, and participation with, formal education. Open educational resource (OER) production – often beginning with 'legacy content' - privileged original authoring over reuse, positioning initial engagement with openness from familiar practices. As an understanding of the complexities of openness matured – and continues to do so – policy and strategy need to be informed by the lived experience of open practitioners, and the inherent challenges explicitly articulated. Whilst the barriers and enablers of OEP have focused researcher effort, and have a degree of consistency globally, nuance and context are almost entirely absent in the literature.
This paper seeks to address the gap of nuanced practitioner experience by drawing together two conceptual models – a Continuum of Open Practice, and the Ecology of the Open Practitioner as a tool for understanding practice at the individual, institutional, and national levels. Situated in higher education experiences of openness, the model draws upon initial data from four case study sites to determine the breadth of activity and the localised norms that influence engagement with openness.
At key points during the session, participants will be asked to reflect on their contexts, and how this influences local OEP – from the practitioner, and institutional (or organisational) perspectives with particular emphasis on unearthing contextual enablers and barriers for mainstream adoption of open education. The global nature of the conference provides positive affordances by actively engaging participants, and building discussion for practical, evidence-based action.
