An empirical investigation of the emergent issues around OER adoption in Sub-Saharan AfricaWithin the past few years, Africa has joined the rest of the world as an active participant in the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement with a number of home-grown and externally driven initiatives. These have the potential to make an immense contribution to teaching and learning in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). However, certain barriers prevent full participation. This paper reports on qualitative research that sought to investigate SSA's readiness to adopt OER. The study involves three case studies based in higher education institutions involved in OER projects and located in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. Findings indicate contrary to popular belief that low technology levels in Africa do not necessarily impede adoption of such educational technologies; the real challenges facing readiness to adopt OER appear to be related to socio-economic, cultural, institutional and national issues. This paper argues for a complete mind shift in how people perceive OER. It also proposes raising awareness of OER at all levels, involving institutions and government, versioning OER for the African context and conducting more research on OER adoption.Keywords: open educational resources; OER in Africa; challenges of adopting OER IntroductionWhen the concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) was conceived, supporters perceived it as a way of making knowledge accessible to all, especially those in most need (Smith & Casserly, 2006 Framing the investigation within an existing OER project (i.e. Teacher Education in SubSaharan Africa (TESSA)) it was possible to interview institutional practitioners (already involved in OER in higher education institutions (HEI)) in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa and discover challenges and success factors that had an impact on their readiness to adopt OER in this region. Although a single project is not representative of a greatly diverse continent such as Africa, the choice of TESSA presented an appropriate study context as it provided access to African practitioners conversant with OER who had first-hand experience of developing and using such content within their own context. Additionally, nine non-TESSA participants from the same institutions were included to help identify socio-cultural issues that potentially influenced non-adoption of OER. We first present a brief literature review followed by a background section which includes a description of the TESSA project.An account of the research method used is then provided, followed by the research findings which are discussed within the context of existing knowledge. The paper concludes with suggestions for future OER development in SSA and similar contexts. LITERATURE REVIEWIssues around adoption of OER have been identified in relation to the African continent; however the discussion has been anecdotal in nature since little documented empirical evidence exists (Hodgkinson-Williams, 2010). Although broadband access can be limited and costly (OECD, 20...

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PurposeThis paper aims to explore the role of institutional and national policies in the design process of educational digital libraries developed collaboratively with key stakeholders within the African higher education context.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research project based on three case studies of universities in Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Uganda) was carried out; comprising a retrospective review of the design process of ten innovative digital libraries through 38 in‐depth interviews with key design stakeholders. The interviews were conducted between September and December, 2009, while the data were triangulated with observations and documentary evidence from key policies.FindingsInstitutional and national policies were found to have tremendous impact on the design process of digital libraries as well as on their sustainability. Their absence in the design process was found to stifle innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThis research was limited to the design process of digital libraries in African higher education. The research findings suggest that policy makers are important design gatekeepers and as such digital library designers should actively review relevant national and institutional policies, incorporate the implications of policies into design processes, and help to develop relevant policies.Originality/valueThe paper provides an understanding of the critical impact policies have with respect to supporting the design of educational digital libraries that are developed collaboratively with stakeholders. The retrospective review of completed digital library design processes carried out offers a different methodological approach for obtaining a high level understanding of the phenomenon under investigation.

This study aims to establish the level of media accessibility and use by the Kenyan rural women in the Kinangop area, with the assumption that media can play an important role for the improvement of their welfare. A survey, using the critical incidence method, was used to gather data by probing personto-person through interviews and questionnaires. 104 women were sampled from 31 170 women using multistage sampling technique, and interviewed. Ten questionnaires were distributed to key informants who hold leading positions for the improvement of social welfare in the area. The data was analysed by use of descriptive statistics. The study revealed that women require mainly health and agricultural information. Because of low literacy, the majority of the women cannot comprehend radio transmissions in English and Kiswahili which are not their vernacular languages. Despite rating the radio relatively high (26%) as the leading media for information compared to other media, several social and economic barriers including the lack of time to listen to radio programmes were mentioned. Alternative media resources such as rural extension workers and fellow women and friends were rated high. The poor transport and telecommunications infrastructure contributes enormously towards media inaccessibility. The study recommends that alternative media resources like women groups, folk media, religious gathering and exhibitions be promoted and extension services be improved. In addition, timely radio programmes should be broadcasted in vernacular, and women should be encouraged to participate in adult education programmes. Male spouses should be closely involved to support the initiatives and reduce cultural barriers. A model for solving some of the problems is provided. The study confirms previous similar studies and presents new dimensions that can be pursued. The data gathered can be used to determine the role libraries can play.

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