Open Educational Resources through the European lens: Pedagogical opportunities and copyright constraints

Abstract

The adoption of Open Educational Resources (“OERs”) in schools and universities is a phenomenon also on the rise in Europe. Increasingly relying on digital, open, freely adaptable materials that are specifically designed for educational purposes is not only a response to the disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, but a consistent policy step towards an inclusive, diverse, and quality education in the EU. The article examines the potential and constraints of OERs from both a pedagogical and legal perspective. It demonstrates how these types of resources are fit for purpose to achieve diversity, knowledge co-creation, and student agency in educational ecosystems. It also flags points of weakness of the EU copyright legal framework, such as the lack of harmonization of rules on co-authorship and adaptation, which need to be tackled to fully enable OER-enabled pedagogies across the Union.