Research on OER for Development, Metasynthesis

The Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D) project was a four-year (2013-2017), large-scale networked project which set out to contribute to the body of research on how Open Educational Resources (OER) and address the primary research question: Whether, how, for whom and under what circumstances can engagement with open educational practices and OER provide equitable access to relevant, high-quality, affordable and sustainable education in the Global South. The project engaged a total of 103 research team members in 18 sub-projects in 21 countries across South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia, coordinated by a central Network Hub. The research work culminated in an edited volume, Adoption and Impact of OER in the Global South.
A primary contribution of the edited volume was the metasynthesis of sub-project findings, published as Factors influencing Open Educational Practices and OER in the Global South: Meta-synthesis of the ROER4D project. The aim of this synthesis was to distill key themes emerging from sub-project research and to identify (a) Educational challenges pertinent in the Global South context (b) Claims about OER as a mechanism to address these challenges (c) OER and related open educational practices observed in the sub-projects, as well as the structural, cultural and agential factors influencing those practices (d) Any impact that could be attributed to OER adoption in addressing educational challenges. The 13 sub-project chapters from the edited volume comprised the primary data source for the synthesis, with final research reports being utilised in two instances where there were no associated sub-project chapters.