Enabling Openness: Designing University Systems for Inclusive Educational Access
Category: User-Centred Design · Effect: Moderate effect · Year: 2023
University systems can be redesigned to foster open education by identifying and transforming 'prohibitive closures' into 'enabling closures' that promote inclusivity and access.
Design Takeaway
When designing educational systems, prioritize the creation of flexible, accessible structures that invite participation and knowledge sharing, rather than those that inadvertently or intentionally exclude.
Why It Matters
This research highlights how the design of educational systems, both technologically and administratively, can either perpetuate exclusion or facilitate greater participation. By understanding the inherent tensions within university structures, designers can create more equitable learning environments.
Key Finding
University systems can be designed to be more open and inclusive by intentionally creating 'enabling closures' that facilitate access, rather than relying on 'prohibitive closures' that restrict it.
Key Findings
- University systems often contain 'prohibitive closures' that limit access and perpetuate privilege.
- 'Enabling closures' can be designed within systems to create opportunities for openness and inclusion.
- Open education initiatives are often in tension with the closed, commercialized infrastructures of higher education.
Research Evidence
Aim: How can the design of university systems be modified to better support open education principles by transforming prohibitive closures into enabling ones?
Method: Conceptual analysis and theoretical framework development
Procedure: The authors analyze the inherent tensions within university systems regarding openness and closure, differentiating between prohibitive and enabling closures, and propose a framework for how open education can be integrated through enabling closures.
Context: Higher education systems and open educational practices
Design Principle
Design for inclusion by transforming systemic barriers into pathways for engagement.
How to Apply
When developing new educational technologies or redesigning university policies, actively seek opportunities to dismantle exclusionary practices and build in mechanisms for broader access and participation.
Limitations
The paper is theoretical and does not present empirical data from specific design interventions.
Student Guide (IB Design Technology)
Simple Explanation: Think about how university rules and technology can sometimes make it hard for people to learn. This research says we can redesign these things to make them easier and fairer for everyone to access education.
Why This Matters: Understanding how systems can be designed to be inclusive is crucial for creating educational tools and experiences that benefit more people.
Critical Thinking: To what extent can technological solutions alone overcome systemic issues of exclusion in education, or are fundamental policy changes also required?
IA-Ready Paragraph: The research by Gallagher and Lamb (2023) suggests that educational systems can be designed to be more inclusive by transforming 'prohibitive closures' into 'enabling closures.' This principle guided the design of [your project], aiming to create a more accessible and equitable user experience by [specific design action].
Project Tips
- Consider the 'rules' and 'systems' around your design project. Are they helping or hindering users?
- Look for ways to make your design more open and accessible to a wider range of people.
How to Use in IA
- Use this research to justify design choices that aim to increase accessibility or reduce barriers for users in your design project.
Examiner Tips
- Demonstrate an awareness of how systemic design choices impact user access and inclusivity.
Independent Variable: Nature of university system closures (prohibitive vs. enabling)
Dependent Variable: Level of openness and inclusivity in educational access
Strengths
- Provides a critical theoretical lens for analyzing educational systems.
- Offers a useful distinction between different types of systemic closures.
Critical Questions
- How can 'enabling closures' be practically implemented in diverse educational contexts?
- What are the potential unintended consequences of attempting to create 'openness' within existing institutional structures?
Extended Essay Application
- Investigate the systemic barriers within a specific educational context and propose design interventions that create 'enabling closures' to improve user access and participation.
Source
Open education in closed-loop systems: Enabling closures and open loops · Distance Education · 2023 · 10.1080/01587919.2023.2267475