Availability and Use of Open Educational Resources among Senior High School Teachers in the Cape Coast Metropolis

Abstract

The advent of Open Educational Resources (OERs) has come as a relevant aid for educational institutions to access hitherto unassessed resources which are critical to teaching and learning success. The study focuses on use of open educational resources among senior high school teachers in the Cape Coast metropolis. The study was guided by objectives which include; examine awareness of the existence of OERs, access teachers have to OER materials, permission by teachers and institutions to enable them modify and use OER resources. This study employed a mixed method approach. Four Heads of the selected schools were interviewed and 266 questionnaire were administered to teachers in the four selected senior high schools which together broadly represented the characteristics of second cycle educational sector in Cape Coast metropolis. The OER adoption pyramid was used to help with analyzing and synthesizing the data. Findings showed that how OER adoption takes place at an institution is shaped by a layered sequence of factors – infrastructural access, legal permission, conceptual awareness, technical capacity, material availability, and individual or institutional volition – which are further influenced by prevailing cultural and social variables. It is recommended that significant investment is made by the government of Ghana and ministry of education by providing infrastructure including buildings, internet and textbooks to make the use of OER effective. Also, developing, modifying and incorporating OER training into second cycle education curriculum by the ministry of education would help teachers and students to be more equipped to contribute and utilize OER effectively. This study has value and application for researchers and institutions pursuing an OER agenda, policy-makers seeking tools to assess OER readiness in institutional contexts, and funding agencies aiming to boost institutional OER engagement.