Scholarship and the Open Ecosystem – Open up for Convergence [O-175] Members : OER19

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Thu, Apr 11 2019, 11:30am – 12:30pm

Authors: Lina Morgado, and Paula Cardoso

Room: G007

Theme: Open ecosystem

Type: Research presentation (20mins)

Description

Session Description

This presentation intends to contribute both theoretically as well as empirically to the discussion of a critical issue in Open Education: how to bring convergence to the different domains of the Open Ecosystem, in particular regarding faculty’s functions in Higher Education institutions.

We theoretically revisit the concept of scholarship as a concept that describes the multidimensionality of faculty’s functions, as proposed by Boyer in 1990. We compare Boyer’s model to Portuguese law on the four dimensions of Higher Education faculty (research, teaching, knowledge transfer and management), with particular attention given to the potential that the movement of openness to knowledge can bring to each of the academic functions.

After this theoretical framework, we present empirical data on a survey conducted with Portuguese faculty of all public institutions, regarding their perceptions on two specific domains of the Open Ecosystem: Open Educational Resources and Open Access. The results obtained indicate that, although faculty already show some degree of knowledge and use of Open Educational Resources and Open Access in their teaching and research practices, there is still a general lack of knowledge in both fields. However, the convergence of faculty perceptions regarding both fields provides evidence on the possibility of a common approach to both fields in faculty’s educational practices, with the purpose of opening up their educational and scientific resources, thus reinforcing the principles of transparency, collaboration and openness to knowledge. These results are in line with authors such as Willinsky (2005) and Corrall & Pinfield (2014), who state that these domains share core values and a common commitment and suggest that a convergent approach to both, without forgetting their particularities, may bring additional advantages, both for faculty and their institutions. Despite the existing obstacles, among which intellectual property, business models and sustainability, a convergent approach to the movement of openness to knowledge encompasses greater visibility, impact and innovation, as well as less costs and more quality, built on reputation and trust. It is then possible to define a single agenda for institutions and decision-makers in their movement of openness to knowledge.

In the end of the presentation, the case of a Portuguese institution will be presented and participants in the session are invited to actively discuss how institutions may define their convergent policies.

References

Boyer, E., 1990. Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Corrall, S., & Pinfield, S., 2014. Coherence of “Open” Initiatives in Higher Education and Research: Framing a Policy Agenda. iConference 2014 Proceedings, pp. 293–313. Available at http://hdl.handle.net/2142/47316 [Accessed 06 September 2018].

Willinsky, J., 2005. The unacknowledged convergence of open source, open access and open science. First Monday, 10(8). Available at: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1265/1185 [Accessed 19 May 2018].

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