Barriers for Lecturers to Use Open Educational Resources and Participate in Inter-university Teaching Exchange Networks

Abstract

Concepts of Inter-University Teaching Exchange Networks (IUTENs), i.e. the exchange of courses between different universities as well as the import of Open Educational Resources (OERs) offer the potential for innovative teaching-learning scenarios in higher education. Depending on the organization, discipline, and objectives, this opens up a variety of possibilities for shaping teaching. However, this change places new challenges on lecturers and involves uncertainties. For this reason, it is necessary to investigate barriers to these new concepts, as they could lead to a lack of acceptance and thus a low intention to participate. We examine barriers by conducting interviews with 19 university lecturers and analyzing them using qualitative content analysis. The survey aims to identify and categorize barriers related to the use of OERs as well as for participation in IUTENs from the perspective of teachers. Key findings show that the main barriers to using OERs are no perceived added value and issues related to quality. In terms of IUTENs, it appears that adherence to traditional teaching formats is the main barrier to participation in exchange networks. The categories can provide important indications of areas that need special attention in order to promote lecturers' willingness to participate in IUTENs and using OERs. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.