OER Mainstreaming in Cameroon: Perceptions and Barriers

Abstract

The government of Cameroon has been increasingly pre-occupied with the quality of learning outcomes and the lack of learning resources at all levels of the education system. Research on similar educational systems in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond indicate that Ministries of Education are exploring the potential of open educational resources (OER) to cut down the high cost of textbooks and enhance the availability of quality learning materials in classrooms. To explore possibilities of mainstreaming OER under the Ministries of Basic and Secondary Education in Cameroon, a quantitative research design approach was used to survey n=393 Regional Pedagogic Supervisors from the 10 Regions of the country. The outcome of this study presents the factors shaping the perspectives of Regional Pedagogic Supervisors in terms of perceptions and barriers to using OER. The novelty of this approach is the application of a proven model for technology acceptance testing in the context of OER. Based on the findings, three major recommendations for mainstreaming OER in Cameroon with potential impact on lowering textbook costs and increasing learning outcomes were formulated.