Open Textbook Author Journeys: Internal Conversations and Cycles of Time

Open Textbook Author Journeys: Internal Conversations and Cycles of Time

One of the challenges experienced in South African higher education (HE) is a lack of access to affordable, appropriate textbooks and other teaching materials that can be legally shared on online forums and the Internet. There are also increasing calls to address transformation and social justice gl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International review of research in open and distance learning 2022-09, Vol.23 (3), p.134-152
Main Authors: Cox, Glenda, Willmers, Michelle, Masuku, Bianca
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Access to education
agency
College Students
Connectivity
Coronaviruses
Course Content
COVID-19
Culture
Curricula
Educational materials
Educational Resources
Fraser, Nancy
Higher education
Injustice
Internet
Multimedia
Open Educational Resources
open textbooks
Social justice
social realism
Textbook Preparation
Textbook Publication
Textbooks
University students
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Summary:One of the challenges experienced in South African higher education (HE) is a lack of access to affordable, appropriate textbooks and other teaching materials that can be legally shared on online forums and the Internet. There are also increasing calls to address transformation and social justice globally and in South African HE through curriculum transformation. This article draws on the research of the Digital Open Textbooks for Development initiative at the University of Cape Town (UCT). It presents the journeys of four open textbook authors at UCT in relation to the social injustices they witness in their classrooms. It also makes use of Margaret Archer’s social realist approach to explore dynamics related to open textbook authors’ agency and ultimate concerns, as well as how their internal conversations shape their practices and approaches to open textbooks. Open textbooks are framed as a set of practices that play out in varying cycles of time and hold promise in terms of addressing the need for greater access and inclusivity in HE.
ISSN:1492-3831
1492-3831