Contrasting the awareness and attitude of French university teachers towards open educational resources sharing across academic fields

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the disparities in open educational resource sharing among various academic disciplines in French universities. Conducted shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, it involved an online survey with 947 participants. The findings reveal significant differences in knowledge sharing practices across academic fields. For example, computer science instructors demonstrated greater familiarity with Creative Commons (CC) licences. However, awareness of these licences did not always translate into a willingness to use them. In contrast, law professors, despite being aware of CC licences, were less inclined to share their course materials. The study found that faculty in the hard sciences, as classified by the Becher-Biglan framework, were more inclined to share their resources. These observations highlight the need to consider the academic discipline of instructors when exploring their attitudes towards open education and in formulating policies to enhance the availability of resources on the internet.