Some exploratory thoughts on Openness and an ethics of care.

Abstract

Amidst the different claims and counter-claims of disruption, innovation and revolutions facing higher education, the notion of Openness is, on the one hand deeply embedded in the evolution of distance education, and on the other hand, one of the key characteristics of more recent phenomena such as Open Educational Resources (OER) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Key to these three phenomena is the claim that they aim to widen access, and while the statistics do support this claim with regard to number of registrations or users, widening access is much larger than just providing access and it raises a number of ethical issues and concerns. Openness has become one of the “corporate buzzwords” (Birnbaum 2001: 3) and is “presented as universally applicable quick-fix solutions – along with the obligatory and explicit caution that their recommendations are not quick fixes and will require substantial management understanding and commitment” (Birnbaum 2001:4). Openness is much more buzzword or fad and is deeply political, embedded in our epistemologies and ontologies, and reflecting and often perpetuating inequalities and injustices. While there are many possibly ways to engage with exploring the ethical issues and implications of widening access and opening up opportunity, one possible heuristic lens is to explore these is through the claim that with opening up or widening access comes certain responsibilities. But having said that, determining the scope of these responsibilities is more complex and more nuanced than perceived at a first glance. Considering the scope, definition and ethical implications of Openness and responsibility in these three phenomena, it is important to consider a number of questions such as: Is widening access enough? What are the fiduciary duties of the one who widens access or does widening access cancel or change the inherent fiduciary duty? In this chapter we briefly explore ethics, responsibility and care while mapping the notion of Openness in three different, but overlapping phenomena namely Open Distance and Distributed education, OER and MOOCs. We then propose the need to move towards an ethics of care which acknowledges the need for leadership in Higher Education to take a teleological approach to Openness in order to truly leverage its potential.