Presentation delivered to Education Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference - University College Cork

1. Dr. Mairéad Nic Giolla Mhichíl, Professor Mark Brown,
Dr Eamon Costello, Dr. Enda Donlon
Opening up Education in Irish
Universities: An analysis of institutional
strategy and macro-level policy
University College Cork, Cork
21st April 2017

2. DUBLIN CITY
UNIVERSITY…

3. 1. Context & Conceptual
• Definition
• Macro policy environment
• European & National Levels
• OpenUpEdu Framework – EC JRC
2. Research Dimension
Opening up Education - Higher
Education Policy

4. Conceptual Framework
• Drawn from ideographic notions of policy and politics v static concept
• Influenced by Contextualist (Pettigrew, 1984) and Processualism
(Dawson, 2003)
– Historical
– Contextual
– Temporal
• Process denotes a fluid and fluctuating concept
– Policy is made and remade
• Implementation is complex and mediated by agentic implementers
influenced by their situated contexts - implementation staircase
(Reynolds and Saunders, 1987)

5. Context – Definition
• In 2002 the UNESCO Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher
coined the term “open educational resources”
The open provision of educational resources, enabled by information and
communication technologies, for consultation, use and adaptation by a community
of users for non-commercial purposes (UNESCO, 2002:24).
• 2007 – Cape Town Declaration that open education not just about OERs
It also draws upon open technologies that facilitate collaborative, flexible learning
and the open sharing of teaching practices that empower educators to benefit
from the best ideas of their colleagues. It may also grow to include new
approaches to assessment, accreditation and collaborative learning

6. Context – Definition
• Open Education is part of the wider Open movement (National Forum ET&L,
2015)
• Open Scholarship, Open Practice, Open Pedagogy, Massive Open Online
Courses (MOOCs) Open Educational Resources (OERs) Open Educational
Practice (OEP), Open Scholarship/Open Science Open Access Publishing Open
Licensing Open Textbooks Open Data (Weller, 2017) & (Donlon,2016)

7. Context Macro Policy Environment
• Open Education has moved on to mean more than
– OERs or MOOCs
– Indeed many believe that MOOCs are the anti-thesis of Open education
• Paris Communication in 2012
• EU - Education and Training 2020
– One of the six priority areas
• Since 2005 the EU has engaged in numerous research c. 20
studies & 110 publications based around the concept of digital
technologies and education

8. Source: (JRC-B4, Digital transformation of education and training, Towards an effective
digital age learning, Leaflet European Commission Joint Research Centre )

9. Source:
(Inamorato dos
Santos, A., Punie,
Y., Castaño-Muñoz,
J. (2916) Opening
up education– a
support
framework for
higher education
institutions. JRC,
European
Commission)

10. Source: (Inamorato dos Santos, A., Punie, Y., Castaño-Muñoz, J. (2916) Opening up
education– a support framework for higher education institutions. JRC, European
Commission)

11. Irish Policy Context
• Hunt Report 2015, HEA Flexible learning 2009
• Digital Roadmap 2015-2017 (Currently under
evaluation – Jim Devine )
Recommendation 3, Priority 5
Develop and implement open education principles
and practices for Irish education that are aligned with
EU policy and emerging international practice.
Source: (National Forum for
the Enhancement of
Teaching and Learning, 2015)

12. Senior Management Review – 2015
Source:
(http://www.teachingandle
arning.ie/wp-
content/uploads/2014/03/
Senior-Management-
FINAL.pdf)

13. Irish Policy Context – National Forum for the
Enhancement of T&L
• All Aboard Initiative :
An initiative being co-run by The National Forum for the
Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and
Ireland’s higher education institutions, All Aboard 2017 is a week-
long (3-7 April 2017) series of national and regional public events
designed to build confidence in Ireland’s digital skills for learning.
(Source: http://www.teachingandlearning.ie/all-aboard-2017/)
• Open education….
• 7/322 Events – Open in title

14. Source:
(http://www.teachingandl
earning.ie/wp-
content/uploads/2016/09
/PD-Framework-
FINAL).pdf
Personal Development Framework

15. OpenEdu Framework Background
• Based on research conducted by the EC Joint
Research Council
• OpenCred – looking at issues of validation of non-
formal MOOC based learning
• OpenSurvey – institutional case studies conducted
across five countries in EU - significantly for this
study – the overall
• MOOCKnowledge – research on MOOC learners
• Open Cases – institutional case studies

16. OpenSurvey
39.4% 41.6%
21.8%
43% 43.4%
63%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
OVERALL France Germany Poland Spain UK
Source:
(http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/re
pository/bitstream/JRC99959/reqno_jrc
99959.pdf)

17. Jensen, D., & Schuwer, R. (2015). Institutional MOOC strategies in
Europe: Status report based on a mapping survey conducted in
October – December 2014.

18. OpenEdu Framework -
Six core dimensions
• Access, Content, Pedagogy,
Recognition, Collaboration,
Technology, Research
Four transversal dimensions
• Strategy, Leadership, Technology,
Quality

19. Source: Inamorato dos Santos, A., Punie, Y., Castaño-Muñoz, J. (2916) Opening up
education– a support framework for higher education institutions. JRC, European
Commission

20. Source: (Inamorato dos Santos, A., Punie, Y., Castaño-Muñoz, J. (2916) Opening up education–
a support framework for higher education institutions. JRC, European Commission)

21. Source: (Inamorato dos Santos, A., Punie, Y., Castaño-Muñoz, J. (2916) Opening up education–
a support framework for higher education institutions. JRC, European Commission)

22. Source: (Inamorato dos Santos, A., Punie, Y., Castaño-Muñoz, J. (2916) Opening up education–
a support framework for higher education institutions. JRC, European Commission)

24. Go raibh
maith
agaibh!

25. Critical References
Cape Town Declaration ( 2007) [Available at: http://www.capetowndeclaration.org/read-the-declaration],[Last
accessed: 19th April 2017]
Devine, J. (2015) Strategic and Leadership Perspectives on Digital Capacity in Irish Higher Education, National Teaching
and Learning Enhancement Forum, [Available at: http://www.teachingandlearning.ie/wp-
content/uploads/2016/09/PD-Framework-FINAL.pdf], [Last accessed: 19th April 2017]
Weller, M. (2017) [Available at: http://blog.edtechie.net/],[Last accessed: 19th April 2017]
Dawson, P. (1994). Organizational Change: A Processual Approach. London, Paul Chapman.
Dawson, P. (2003). Reshaping Change: A Processual Perspective. London, Routledge.
Pettigrew, A. M. (1985). The Awakening Giant: Continuity and Change in ICI. Oxford, Blackwell.
Pettigrew, A. M. (1985). Contextualist Research: A natural way to link theory and practice. Doing Research that is
Useful for Theory and Practice. E. Lawler, A. Mohrman, S. Mohrman et al. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass: 222-249.
Pettigrew, A. M., et al. (2001). "Organizational Change and Development: Challenges for Future Research." The
Academy of Management Journal 44(4): 697-719.
Reynolds, J. and M. Saunders (1987). Teacher responses to currriculum policy: beyond the 'delivery' metaphor.
Exploring Teachers' Thinking. J. Calderhead. London Cassell.
Trowler, P. (2008). Cultures and Change in Higher Education: Theories and Practices, Palgrave MacMillan.
Trowler, P., et al. (2003). Change Thinking, Change Practices; A guide to Change for Heads of Department., Programme
Leaders and other change Agents in Higher Education, LTSN Generic Centre & Higher Education Academy.
Trowler, P. R. (1998). Academics Responding to Change: New Higher Education Frameworks and Academic Cultures.
London, The Society for Research into Higher Education