Exploring the Factors That Influence K-12 Teachers’ Use of Open Educational Resources

Abstract

The features of open educational resources (OERs) have the potential of enhancing teaching effectiveness and student learning experiences in K-12 education. Encouraging K-12 teachers to use OERs requires an understanding of the factors that have an influence on teachers’ decisions to adopt or use OERs in their teaching. In this regard, this study explored the factors related to how teachers perceived their use of OERs, including the perceived ease of use of OERs, perceived usefulness of OERs, intention to adopt OERs, attitudes, OER self-efficacy, and so on. The relationships of several proposed factors were explored. The participants were teachers from a university in the northeastern United States. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were applied to analyze the collected data. The results indicated that teachers’ perceptions of using OERs were positive overall. Their perceived ease of use and usefulness were two significant predictors of teachers’ adoption of OERs. Other factors that addressed teachers’ willingness and challenges with the use of OER were re-ported and discussed.

Keywords

• open educational resources (OERs)
• self-efficacy
• K-12 teachers’ perceptions
• factors
• challenges