Open Educational Resources: Promoting Access, Engagement, and Equity in Social Work Education

Background:  The price of textbooks has skyrocketed over 800% percent over the past forty years, and nearly 86% in the past ten years (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016; Popken, 2015)—outpacing the inflation of tuition, housing, and healthcare.  The high cost of textbooks affects student retention, graduation, and performance (Florida Virtual Campus, 2016).  These gaps are most pronounced in non-White, low-income, and part-time students (Colvard, Wilson, & Park, 2018), demographics from which social work education draws heavily (Salsberg et al., 2017).  Faculty cannot control tuition but have almost complete control over the “second tuition” bill students receive on the syllabus for required materials (Ernst & Wilson, 2018). 

One increasingly common solution is the use of open educational resources (OER).  OER include textbooks and other resources that are free to use, customize, and share.  About 18% of faculty and 34% of introductory course instructors report using OER (Seaman & Seaman, 2018), though there has been little to no adoption of OER in social work education.  This study measures the impact of using the first OER textbook created for social work education, Scientific inquiry in social work. 

Methods: Researchers conducted a quasi-experiment with 33 students in BSW social work research methods courses.  The purpose was to investigate the impact of an OER textbook on learning outcomes and experiences of students.  Quantitative measures included final grades, student evaluations of teaching, and the social work research knowledge assessment (SWRKA).  A two-way ANOVA was conducted to analyze for significant differences in means across students using OER and traditional textbooks.  Focus groups were facilitated and analyzed by undergraduate and graduate student research collaborators.

Results: Statistical analyses of learning outcomes revealed minimal differences between students using OER and traditional textbooks.  Differences in learning experiences were evident in thematic analyses of focus group data.  The electronic formats available for the online textbooks promoted access for nontraditional and employed students.  Students using the OER textbook described the book as customized, easy to understand, personalized, and engaging.  Students using the traditional textbook reported using resources other than the textbook to understand key concepts.  Traditional textbook users also expressed greater agreement with the idea that research is boring and saw little opportunity to improve the textbook to make it more engaging.  Students using the OER textbook expressed that the approachable and personalized language of the OER textbook helped them feel more engaged towards research as a topic.  Across groups, students perceived OER to be of equal or superior quality to traditional textbooks and were frustrated by the high cost of textbooks. 

Conclusions and implications: This study highlights the role of OER in addressing barriers to accessing knowledge.  Adopting an OER textbook eliminates the cost barrier for economically precarious students.  Professors who adapt OER can also address psychological barriers, such as anxiety and boredom.  Because OER are openly licensed, faculty can share their adapted textbooks and other resources freely, creating a community of practice based in networked and open pedagogy.