Examining the Open Movement: Possibilities and implications for education

This dissertation reports the results of a two-year long study focused on describing and coming to understand the perceptions and beliefs of a group of educators immersed in open source culture (OSC). The study was conducted using grounded theory methodology. Participants included teachers, educational administrators, educational theorists and technical experts who were distributed mostly throughout North America, and other parts of the world. Methods of data-collection included: online surveys, Internet telephony, telephone calls, face-to-face interviews, blog posts, email and discussion forums.;The study uncovered open activities and tools available and used by educators. In particular, the research focuses on the use of open source software, open publishing and open content. The identification of open practice (e.g., types, tools and methods) is an important feature of this study. Open source advocacy is also identified as an important characteristic/activity of most study participants.;The final three chapters of this study describe the benefits of and barriers to the adoption of open source tools, methods and philosophies. While many technical benefits and barriers are described, the study uncovers power relationships that affect the adoption of open source tools, practice and philosophies at all levels of implementation. In response to this discovery, I developed the concept open thinking as a critical tool to reveal and redistribute power/control structures. Additionally, I developed the CARES considerations, a tool for supporting open thinking and openness in educational environments. The dissertation ends with final reflections, a summative overview for supporting open thinking in education and topics for further study.;In preparation for the study, a comprehensive literature review was performed. It covered the origins of the free/open source movement, change theory, communities of practice and social capital theory. The literature review informed the theoretical framework which guided the study. Additional literature, where needed, was introduced through the data collection and analysis processes.