Open educational resources (OER) are increasingly used to support pedagogical initiatives and learning needs at institutions of higher education across the globe. In this thesis, I examined key issues in the use of OER by students at the University of Lagos in Nigeria. Specifically, I examined how much awareness the students have of OER, their attitudes toward OER, and the benefit they derive from using the resources. I also examined the specific motivations behind their use of the resources as well as the challenges they face in doing so. A mixed methods research design, consisting of two data collection approaches (surveys and interviews) and two methods of analysis (grounded theory and principal component analysis [PCA]), was applied. Of the participants, 417 completed the surveys and 20 participated in the interviews. The thesis reveals that although participants frequently used OER, their overall knowledge of the resources was limited. Particularly, participants were limited in their understanding of the concept of OER as well as in their awareness of OER repositories. The thesis also shows that, in general, participants had a positive attitude toward OER, and benefited from using the resources in multiple ways. They were motivated to use OER because the resources facilitate the completion of assigned academic tasks. In spite of the benefits of OER, participants faced several challenges in using the resources, including the high cost of Internet access. Based on the results, a model of OER use was developed. Finally, while the results suggest a growing use of OER among students at the University of Lagos, it also highlights the importance of institutions and governments in facilitating better use of the resources. These insights further illuminate the overall understanding of the use of OER. They may also serve as additional resources for individuals interested in developing and promoting OER at institutions of higher education, particularly at the University of Lagos.

Keywords

constructivist grounded theory · Creative Commons · digital learning resources · electronic learning resources · Grounded Theory · information behavior · information science · information seeking · institutions of higher education · knowledge sharing · nigeria · OER · online learning · open courseware · Open Educational Resources · Open Knowledge · open licenses · principal component analysis · sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) · University of Lagos