Introducing open learning as a means towards social justice in post-school education and training

DATA AVAILABILITY : The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.This volume investigates the uptake of ‘open learning’ in South African Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and higher education institutions. Comprised of 16 studies focused on activities at a range of colleges and universities across the country, these chapters aim to promote a better understanding of open learning practices across the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) sector, including issues such as: recognition of prior learning, access for students with disabilities, work integrated learning, professional development, novel student funding mechanisms, leadership for open educational practices, institutional culture, student support, blended and online learning, flexible learning, online assessment, open educational resource development models and funding, and micro-credentials. This collection of peer-reviewed chapters contributes to understanding the ways in which South African PSET institutions and educators are interpreting ‘open learning’ as a means of advancing social justice. It includes a historical and contemporary understanding of the economic, cultural and political obstacles facing PSET, drawing on Nancy Fraser’s theory of social justice as ‘participatory parity’ to better understand the ways in which ‘open learning’ may address systemic social injustices in order to allow South African students and educators to thrive. This volume emerges from research conducted by the Cases on Open Learning (COOL) project, an initiative by the Department of Higher Education and Training in partnership with the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa.The South African Department of Higher Education and Training.https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.47622/9781928502425am2023Education InnovationSDG-04:Quality Educatio

Innovating Pedagogy 2023: Open University Innovation Report 11

This series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning, and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This eleventh report proposes another ten innovations. To produce the report, a group of academics at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University, UK, collaborated with researchers from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. A long list of pedagogical innovations was proposed by the authors and then, through a process involving critique, research, and voting, pared down to ten that have the potential to provoke major shifts in educational practice. Finally, ten sketches of these innovative pedagogies were compiled, based on a review of published studies and other sources

Position Paper: Digital Literacies

Digital literacies are an emerging phenomenon that both international and national higher education institutions (HEIs) are still grappling to explicitly define. Universities are beginning to adopt the terminology of digital literacies but probably have a long way to go in adopting practices that emphasise the fuller vision of what digital literacies encompass. Conceptualisation of digital literacies is now shifting focus from a capabilities and consumption of technology notion to a use of technology for academic practices and contribution to production notion. This paper highlights the importance of contextualising digital literacies into disciplinary context and therefore, embedding them in courses or subjects