Competence and Practices of Teacher Educators in Integrating OER: An Economic Perspective

Abstract

Open Educational Resources (OER) have emerged as an important approach to promoting accessible, affordable and sustainable education by enabling the free use, adaptation, reuse and sharing of educational materials. From an economic perspective, the integration of OER can contribute to the efficient utilization of educational resources and reduce dependence on costly conventional learning materials, which are cost-intensive. In Teacher Education, the effective use of OER can support teacher educators in accessing diverse resources while encouraging resource sharing and cost-conscious pedagogical practices. The present study examines the competence and practices of Teacher Educators in integrating OER from an economic perspective, investigates the influence of selected demographic variables, and determines the relationship between competence and practices. A descriptive survey design was adopted, and a stratified random sampling method was used to select 32 Teacher Educators from various teacher education institutions across Tamil Nadu. The researcher developed and used OER Integration Competence Scale and OER Integration Practices Scale for data collection. The data were analysed using statistical techniques of mean, standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA and correlation. The findings revealed that Teacher Educators exhibited high competence in OER integration, particularly in pedagogical activities, while their actual practices were at an average level, especially in research activities. Pedagogical integration was stronger than research integration. Gender influenced OER integration practices, and the location of the institution influenced OER integration competence. Competence and practices were moderately positively correlated. The study highlights the need for professional development, institutional support, OER repositories, and supportive policies to strengthen OER integration. Effective OER use can promote cost-effective resource utilization, affordability, resource sharing, and sustainable teaching and learning.