A diagnostic classification model of college instructors’ value beliefs towards open educational resources

Abstract

Open educational resources (OER) can be cost-effective alternatives to traditional textbooks for higher education faculty to decrease student spending on textbooks. To further advocate college instructors’ use of OER, understanding their value belief towards integrating OER in teaching is necessary but currently absent. This study thus analyzed 513 college instructors’ value beliefs about using OER in college teaching by applying a psychometric model known as diagnostic classification models (DCMs). The findings of this study validated the three constructs in value beliefs measured by an OER user survey: engaging students, customizing classroom materials and supporting personal professional development. The results showed that a considerable number of college instructors maintained a low level of value beliefs towards using OER. We further provided individualized classification for each college instructor in terms of the three types of value beliefs. In addition, this study investigated how pre-determined latent classes of value beliefs influenced college instructors’ practice and perception of using OER. Particularly, college instructors who value OER to address their profession needs are more likely to adapt OER in their teaching rather than merely reusing existing copies. Practical implications of supporting higher education faculty’s use of OER are discussed in the end.