Theory And Policy – OER On Their Way Into Practice

Abstract

This paper treats open educational resources (OER), specifically in the context of processes related to education policy. Of importance in this regard are the different understandings, positions, perspectives and focal points of the participant actors from the fields of educational research, practical education and education policy. Those involved approach the politically virulent subject of OER from their respective technical or career-specific perspectives and have one (more or less weighty) aspect of the OER movement in mind, which is intended to gain admission to the education strategies being constructed. In particular, two case studies are examined: first, the formulation of Germany's education policy strategy, «Bildung in der digitalen Welt» [«Education in a Digital World»], which was developed in 2016 by the Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK) [the standing conference of education ministers of the federal states] with the participation of professional associations; second, the curriculum formulated 2017 by the Österreichisches Bundesministerium für Bildung (BMB) [Austrian Federal Ministry of Education] comprising a «Binding Digital Competence Exercise» in schools. The paper examines the various positions and retraces the final version on which all could agree and in which form OER is finally anchored in education planning. After identifying the blind spots in the conceptual anchoring of the idea of OER, the paper considers why attractive aspects, especially for specific actors, remain underexposed and disregarded.