Funding Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: A South African Public Policy Perspective

Nduduzo C. Ndebele, Mfundo Mandla Masuku and Victor H. Mlambo ()
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Nduduzo C. Ndebele: School of Management, IT and Governance, Department of Public Governance, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa
Mfundo Mandla Masuku: School of Built Environment and Development Studies, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa
Victor H. Mlambo: School of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg P.O. Box 524, South Africa

Social Sciences, 2023, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: open educational resources; higher education; funding; South Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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