The Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN, n.d.) supports doctoral research in open education around the world and currently has several hundred members who are doctoral/post-doctoral researchers and interested expert practitioners. In this presentation we offer some analysis of trends in research into open education, drawing on the data generated by GO-GN as well as other expert research. We provide an analysis of network activity and identify core areas for contemporary open education research, including open practice, OER as a discipline area, making connections between research clusters and the application of OER in non-traditional learning contexts. We also offer some reflections on the evolving nature of discourse around open education and the relation between research and practice, particularly around the themes of social justice and equity, diversity and inclusion.

1. Open Education Research: Past, Present, Future
The Open/Technology, Education, Scholarship and Society
Association (OTESSA) Conference 2023
Robert Farrow, Beck Pitt, Martin Weller & Carina Bossu

2. • Trends in Open Education Research
• Introduction to GO-GN
• Our Network
• GO-GN Member Research
• GO-GN Fellowships
• Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Project
• Open Research Handbook
• Reflections
• Get involved!

3. Jordan & Weller (2017) used
citation network analysis to
describe clusters of related
research and identify some key
areas of open education
research.
Trends in Open Education Research

4. Jordan & Weller (2017) used
citation network analysis to
describe clusters of related
research and identify some key
areas of open education
research.

5. • Content
Title
Weller, Jordan,
DeVries & Rolfe
(2018) developed
this analysis and
found that there is
often little overlap
between research
trends.

6. Bozkurt, Koseglu & Singh (2019)
found in their review of trends that
openness can be understood as a
cluster of related concepts.
Most literature (n=970) comes from
developed countries: the ‘open
divide’.
Trends in Open Education Research

7. Bozkurt, Koseglu & Singh (2019)
Trends in Open Education Research

8. • Institutional Consolidation and Instructional Design
(1970s-1980s)
• Quality Assurance and Student Support (1990s-2000s)
• Virtual Universities, Online Interaction and Learning
(2000s-2010s)
• AI, Big Data, and Intelligent Support Systems (2010s-
2020s)
…most research is focused at the ‘micro’ level of
implementation in teaching and learning
Four Phases of Research
(Zawacki-Richter and Bozkurt, 2022)

9. • Pandemic had a massive impact on education but did not
result in increased OER uptake
• Research into open education in this period still being
published…
• Stracke, C. M., Sharma, R. C., Bozkurt, A., Burgos, D., Swiatek Cassafieres, C., Inamorato dos
Santos, A., Mason, J., Ossiannilsson, E., Santos-Hermosa, G., Shon, J. G., Wan, M., Agbu, J.-F.
O., Farrow, R., Karakaya, Ö, Nerantzi, C., Ramírez-Montoya, M. S., Conole, G., Truong, V., &
Cox, G. (2022). Impact of COVID-19 on Formal Education: An International Review of Practices
and Potentials of Open Education at a Distance. The International Review of Research in Open
and Distributed Learning, 23(4), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v23i4.6120
Impact of Covid-19?

10. Global OER Graduate Network
The aims of the GO-GN are to:
• raise the profile of research into open education
• offer support for those conducting doctoral research in
this area
• promote equity and inclusion in the field of open
education research
• develop openness as a process of research

11. Our Network
• Funded by Hewlett Foundation
since 2013
• 52 members and alumni in 2016
• 142 members and alumni in
September 2022
• 173% increase in members and
alumni since 2016
• As at September 2022 41
members (29%) from Global
South

12. Global OER Graduate Network

13. Category 2016 2017 2022
Project case study 3 6 8
Technical 1 2 5
OER as subject 3 5 12
Research with Impact Data 2 6 8
Policy 3 6 8
Practitioner 10 10 26
OER for Development 4 5 9
MOOCs 11 12 19
Pedagogy 0 1 6
Open Practices 6 9 19
In progress 9 13 27
Total 52 75 147
GO-GN Member Research

15. Google Scholar: GO-GN Citation
Summary

16. The GO-GN Fellowships (2020 – 2022)
https://go-gn.net/fellowships/

17. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
https://go-gn.net/go-gn-edi-project/

19. • Consolidates our other publications
• More than 40 contributors from 17
countries
• Future planned sections include
guides to doctoral supervision;
publishing & disseminating research;
funding applications;
• https://shorturl.at/bcjuW

20. • Openness is a dynamic and diverse
research area
• Core themes in 2022: open
practices, practitioners
• Growing connections between
research clusters
• Application of OER and OEP in
broad range of different contexts
• Building research capacity and
shared knowledge through open
Reflections

21. GET INVOLVED!
@GOGN_OER #GO_GN
go-gn.net/join/

22. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/5YR564U319

23. Thank you
@GOGN_OER #GO_GN
go-gn.net gogn.oer@gmail.com
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
All images are by Visual Thinkery for ALT (OER222 images) or GO-GN and are licensed CC BY 4.0.

24. Bibliography
Bozkurt, A., Koseoglu, S., & Singh, L. (2019). An analysis of peer reviewed publications on
openness in education in half a century: Trends and patterns in the open hemisphere.
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 35(4). https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.4252
Bozkurt, A., & Zawacki-Richter, O. (2021). Trends and Patterns in Distance Education (2014–
2019): A Synthesis of Scholarly Publications and a Visualization of the Intellectual
Landscape. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 22(2),
19-45. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v22i2.5381
de los Arcos, B. (2017, October). A review of PhD research into open education. ICDE World
Conference on Online Learning, Toronto, Canada. https://www.slideshare.net/GO-GN/a-
review-of-phd-research-into-open-education (Last accessed: 6 October 2022)
de los Arcos, B. (2016) Global OER Graduate Network: Raising the Profile of Research into
Open Education. EADTU Rome 2016. Retrieved from:
https://www.slideshare.net/BdelosArcos/global-oer-graduate-network-raising-the-profile-of-
research-into-open-education (Last accessed: 6 October 2022)

25. Bibliography
Farrow, R. Pitt, B, Iniesto, F. & Weller, M. (2022, May 23)The Global OER Graduate Network:
Open Research, Open Community, Open Values. OE Global 2022, Nantes, France.
GO-GN (n.d.). Global OER Graduate Network. https://go-gn.net/
Weller, M., Pitt, B., Iniesto, F., Farrow, R., Bossu, C. and Vladimirschi, V. (2021). Annual Review
2021. Global OER Graduate Network. https://go-gn.net/gogn_outputs/2021-in-review/ (Last
accessed: 18 May 2022)
Weller, M. (2016) Emerging OER Discipline. Retrieved from:
https://www.slideshare.net/mweller/emerging-oer-discipline
Weller, M. (2016). Different Aspects of the Emerging OER Discipline. Revista Educacao e
Cultura Contemporanea, 13(31). http://oro.open.ac.uk/47209/ (Last accessed: 18 May
2022)
Zawacki-Richter, O., and Bozkurt, A. (2023). Research Trends in Open, Distance, and Digital
Education. In: Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education. Springer, Singapore.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0351-9_12-1

26. Categories (1)
• Project case study – on findings of a particular case study, or
implementation of a project.
• Technical – focus on the technical specification of a particular
project i.e. an OER repository.
• OER as subject – focus on OER field itself, nature of openness,
direction for OER, suggestions for adoption, etc.
• Research with impact data – evaluation of the impact of OER
implementation, using educational research methodology such as
control groups, pre and post test, etc.
• Policy - on existing OER policies, the need for policy or standardized
approaches, national frameworks, etc.
Martin Weller, Different Aspects of the Emerging OER Discipline http://www.slideshare.net/mweller/emerging-oer-discipline

27. Categories (2)
• Practitioner – use of OER by practitioners in a particular context, i.e.
teachers or librarians.
• OER in developing nations – use of OER in the context of developing
nations i.e. TESSA.
• MOOCs – an emerging field of its own, or MOOCs interpreted as
OER and reclassified under other categories.
• Pedagogy – on the possible impact of OER on pedagogy, or as a
vehicle for change in teaching practice.
• Open data/practice/access – an intersection with other aspects of
open practice that have varying degrees of relevance to the OER
community.
Martin Weller, Different Aspects of the Emerging OER Discipline http://www.slideshare.net/mweller/emerging-oer-discipline