OER Policy and Strategy – Position Paper No. 1

The Current State of OER in Europe: Going Beyond Altruism

This paper comments on the current state of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Europe, in particular at the policy and strategy level. It challenges some of the altruistic, philanthropic and public good drivers underlying the OER movement by identifying the need to align new open solutions with the actual problems educators and learners face in today’s challenging educational landscape. Moreover, the paper critically reflects on why despite the efforts of leading advocates so few governments, schools, universities and businesses, have failed to explicitly commit to adopting Open Educational Practices (OEPs) as a core policy agenda and distinctive feature of their practice.

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Coordinator of this work:

Orna Farrell, Dublin City University, Ireland

Report Authors:

• Orna Farrell, Dublin City University, Ireland
• Stefania Aceto, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain
• Silvia Baldiris, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain
• Mark Brown, Dublin City University, Ireland
• James Brunton, Dublin City University, Ireland