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Marjon Baas, Robert Schuwer, Ellen van den Berg, Tjark Huizinga, Roeland van der Rijst, Wilfried Admiraal

Context of the study
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Session:
The Truth Is Out There
Wednesday 11.00 Salle 200
Baas, M., Schuwer, R., van den Berg, E., Huizinga, T., van der Rijst, R. & Admiraal, W. (2022). The
Role of Brokers in Cultivating an Inter-Institutional Community around Open Educational Resources in
Higher Education. Accepted for publication in Higher Education

• Brokers are individuals in an inter-institutional Community of
Practice who facilitate transfer of knowledge and resources,
and coordinate efforts across boundaries of organizations
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What is a broker?

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Broker between activity systems

1. What is the role of brokers within the collective activity system of
cultivating an inter-institutional community around OER?
2. What actions do brokers undertake to cultivate an inter-
institutional community around OER and what impact do these
actions have on the activity?
3. Which conflict experiences do brokers encounter in their role of
fostering sustainable collaboration on OER among higher
education teachers across institutes?
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Research questions

• Qualitative descriptive study
• Data of Together Nursing
– Project documents
– Minutes of meetings
– 92 process reports
• Data collected at the end of Together Nursing
– Focus group with 7 brokers
– Reflection reports of 10 brokers
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Method

• ‘historically accumulating structural tensions within and between
activity systems’ (Engeström, 2001, p. 137)
• Contradictions are needed for an activity system to develop
• Four levels
– Primary (within nodes of the activity system)
– Secondary (between nodes)
– Tertiary (between an old and a more advanced activity system)
– Quaternary (between the main and a neighbouring activity system (e.g.
the activity system in an institution))
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Contradictions
Engeström, Y. (2001). Expansive learning at work: Toward an activity theoretical
reconceptualization. Journal of Education and Work, 14(1), 133-156.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080020028747

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Brokers’ actions and impact (RQ 2)
Focus of actions Topic
Incite teachers Encouragement and awareness
Teacher support
Use of OER repository Creation of OER
Sharing and reuse of OER
OER quality
Use of online community Cultivation of community
Organizational Organization institute
Project organization
External promotion

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Brokers’ conflict experiences (RQ 3)
Level Perceived conflict experiences
1 Primary Ambiguity of broker role
2 Secondary Imposed rules of the project
Lack of management support
3 Tertiary Limited use of inter-institutional community
4 Quaternary Organizational and societal issues

• Brokers were essential in cultivating the inter-institutional
community due to the unique positions they held among
colleagues
• Brokers’ actions yielded the intended transformation of the
collective activity, albeit to a more limited extent than expected
• The role of the broker was hindered due to conflicts they
experienced
• Management did not empower the brokers within their role
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Conclusions

• Brokers encountered stressors in their role. This could be
lessened if:
– the institute provides time, empowerment and organizational support;
– the project manager provides clear expectations on tasks,
responsibilities and intended outcomes;
– teachers would recognize and value the act of boundary crossing across
institutes;
– address the multi-voicedness of such large collaborative projects with all
stakeholders.
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Recommendations

r.schuwer@fontys.nl
CC0 RawPixel https://pixabay.com/nl/hout-schoolbord-houten-oude-3190203/

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The Role of Brokers in Cultivating an Inter-Institutional Community around Open Educational Resources in Higher Education

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The Role of Brokers in Cultivating an Inter-Institutional Community around Open Educational Resources in Higher Education