CHAMPIONING O.E.R. ADOPTION AMONG LEARNERS: A MULTILEVEL CASE STUDY SAMUEL N. SIMINYU’S NASCENT THOUGHTS ON DOCTORAL THESIS

A LANDMARK Dear Samuel, Student ID: H We write to inform you that the Progression Board for the EdD programme met on 13th March Acting as a Module Review Board, the grades for your DDP and your remaining modules were approved, and the Board is satisfied that you have passed all of the pre-requisite programme components required to progress to the thesis stage of the EdD programme. You should now proceed with your doctoral Thesis starting Thursday, 24th April Please accept our congratulations on reaching this stage of your programme.

1.Becoming a Doctoral Practitioner 2.Learning &Learners 3.Learning: Environments, Infrastructure, & Organisations 4.Ways of Knowing: Perspectives on Educational Research & Practice 5. Values in Educational Research & Practice 6. Leadership, Policy, & Institutional Change 7. Educational Research Methods 8. Action Research for Educational Leadership 9. Internationalisation & the Impact of Global Trends COURSEWORK PHASE (A)

B. Doctoral Development Plan: Learning Log Skype mentoring meeting Reflective Assignment (for each module) C. 6/9 Elective up-skilling Master Classes: Using Advanced Information skills Ethical Issues for the Practitioner Researcher Working with the Thesis Supervisor Managing Your Research Projecy COURSEWORK PHASE (B & C)

COVERAGE Why OER?Research ProblemResearch AimResearch QuestionsResearch MethodologyTheoretical UnderpinningsReferences

WHY OER? OER community (focus on the learner) My story Mak’s story Global story

RESEARCH PROBLEM Primacy of learning resources Challenge of large student numbers Dropping funding base How have learners related to OER? How have learners found their way to OER? How do ‘our’ adoption models relate to those in the literature? The development chasm btn North & South is partly an educational challenge (Altbach, 1998) This realization has partly prompted the mass demand for HE, making it unaffordable for the state (Scott, 2000) Adoption of OER is one way of lowering costs of education (Hylén, 2006)Hylén, years down the road, what is happening among students at Mak? Why? How?

RESEARCH AIM To investigate the nature of socio- cultural forces the support or militate against the adoption of OER by learners in the information-needy global South. To investigate change leadership models that are effective in propelling the process of OER uptake by learners. To provide helpful advice for future investment in OER. To help channel the efforts of change managers and leaders in similar contexts.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS What effect have OER champions had on the extent of OER adoption by students at Makerere University? What is the extent and nature of OER adoption by students at Makerere University? What drives or hinders OER adoption by students at Makerere University?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Professionally applicable new knowledge Analysis: statistical methods + thematic analysis Population: students + teachers Methods: survey + FGDs + In- depth interviews Multilevel, mixed-methods, case-study

THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) Communities of practice; communities of learning; legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991) Change leadership (Brown, 2013) Adoption of new educational technologies (De Freitas & Oliver, 2005)

REFERENCES Altbach, P. G. (1998). Comparative higher education: Knowledge, the university and development: Greenwood Publishing Group. Altbach, P. G., Reisberg, L., & Rumbley, L. E. (2010). Tracking a global academic revolution. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 42(2), Atkins, D. E., Brown, J. S., & Hammond, A. L. (2007). A review of the open educational resources (OER) movement: Achievements, challenges, and new opportunities: Creative common. Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Oxford, England: Prentice-Hall. Battilana, J., & Casciaro, T. (2012). Change Agents, Networks, and Institutions: A Contingency Theory of Organizational Change. Academy of Management Journal, 55(2),

REFERENCES … Brown, S. (2013). Large-scale innovation and change in UK higher education. Research in Learning Technology, 21, doi: /rlt.v21i Cassell, C. (2009). Interviews in organizational research The Sage Handbook of Organisational Research Methods. London: Sage (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2013). Research methods in education. London, UK: Routledge. De Freitas, S., & Oliver, M. (2005). Does E ‐ learning Policy Drive Change in Higher Education?: A case study relating models of organisational change to e ‐ learning implementation. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 27(1), Hylén, J. (2006). Open educational resources: Opportunities and challenges. Proceedings of Open Education,

REFERENCES … Kanwar, A., Kodhandaraman, B., & Umar, A. (2010). Toward sustainable open education resources: A perspective from the global south. The Amer. Jrnl. of Distance Education, 24(2), Lall, S., & Pietrobelli, C. (2002). Failing to compete: Technology development and technology systems in Africa: Edward Elgar Publishing. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation: Cambridge University Press. Mulder, J. (2008). Knowledge dissemination in sub–Saharan Africa: What role for open educational resources (OER). Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam. Scott, P. (2000). Globalisation and higher education: Challenges for the 21st century. Journal of studies in international education, 4(1), 3-10.

REFERENCES … Smith, M. S., & Casserly, C. M. (2006). The promise of open educational resources. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 38(5), Teferra, D., & Altbach, P. G. (2004). African higher education: Challenges for the 21st century. Higher education, 47(1), Wilkinson, S. (2004). 10 Focus group reseach Qualitative research: Theory, method and practice (pp ). London, UK: Sage. Wolfenden, F. J. (2008). The TESSA OER Experience: Building sustainable models of production and user implementation. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2008(1). Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (Vol. 5). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.