Empowering Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: The Impact and Future of Open Education in Latin America

Open Education in Latin America

In Latin America various collaborative networks operate, tailored to the specific needs of their regions, such as broadband Wi-FI Internet capacity, languages spoken and cultural factors. One example is the OE LATAM Regional Node from Open Education Global (OEG n.d.), which brings together experts from North, Central, and South America with extensive experience in Open Education. Furthermore, each country has its own approach to funding basic and higher education, which impacts national and institutional policies geared towards promoting Open Education in these sectors (Toledo 2017). However, many countries in the region are still adopting and integrating Open Education (Rodés, Gewerc-Barujel & Llamas-Nistal 2019). Despite the widespread use of digital resources, including the remixing of educational materials, challenges such as limited awareness of open licences, the absence of specific policies and funding, and the need for capacity building and awareness-raising continue to hinder progress and delay broader adoption (Pérez, Montoya & Peñalvo 2022).

Open Education strategies and policy development in Latin American countries are still growing, with UNESCO urging countries to create relevant policies and address the need for integration between networks (Ramírez-Montoya 2022; Rodés & Iniesto 2021). Although further regulation and implementation are needed, OER integration is increasing, and MOOCs containing OER are expanding (Li et al. 2024).

For example, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay are integrating OER and Open Access policies into their higher education systems, with Uruguay creating a supportive environment for open policy development (Toledo 2017). The “Embracing Openness in Higher Education” initiative highlights the challenges and progress of the OER movement, emphasising the need for awareness and capacity development, while the STEM Education for Innovation project led by INNOVEC (a Mexican non-profit organization), focuses on digital STEM education using blended OER and reaches teachers and decision-makers across the region (Bascopé et al. 2020; Siemens Stiftung 2022). However, at the institutional level, few organisations and universities have incorporated OER in their policies and procedures. Examples of these are Universidad de la República (Uruguay), Iniciativa Educação Aberta (Brazil), Tecnológico de Monterrey (México) and Universidade Federal de Santa María (Brazil).

Equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives in Latin America

Latin America has seen a variety of EDI initiatives aimed at addressing social inequalities and fostering inclusive environments. Organisations in the region are increasingly adopting inclusion and diversity strategies, such as implementing hiring quotas, updating legal frameworks to combat workplace inequality, and responding to social movements like Argentina’s ‘Ni Una Menos,’ which addresses violence against women (Baker McKenzie 2022). The Women, Diversity, and Inclusion in Business Action Council in Brazil focuses on enhancing gender and diversity representation in the corporate sector, particularly for women (GCII 2024). In Mexico, the Gender Equality Seal, led by the National Institute for Women, acknowledges companies that adopt gender equality practices, encouraging businesses to implement policies that promote equal opportunities for men and women (INMUJERES n.d.).

Research in the area includes that of Labarca, Sadi and Álvarez Nobell (2024) who analysed to what extent EDI policies are implemented in Latin American organisations. Their results showed that the most relevant category linked to professionals is generation and age, above other usually more consolidated categories such as gender or sexual orientation, while democracy seems to influence the incorporation of EDI policies. Merchán-Rubiano et al. (2023) conducted a systematic literature review of the research and experiential area of EDI in STEM, revealing a predominance of studies and experiences addressing the gender gap either by diagnosing it or intervening in it. Finally, Pinto (2024) provided several examples of responsible artificial intelligence, showcasing the importance of thinking outside the box and of multidisciplinary and multi-sector partnerships when researching artificial intelligence.

While the above research and development are strategically important to progress EDI in the region, they are mostly focused on organisations and the workforce and not on education per se, let alone Open Education. There seems to be an assumption that Open Education approaches, including OER and open practices, are equitable, diverse, and inclusive. However, this is not always the case. For example, the provision of openly licensed digital resources, like OER, does not automatically guarantee equitable access to learning as the majority of OER are available only in English, making it challenging for learners worldwide to use them (Bossu et. al. 2019; Koçdar et al. 2023). Despite this, Open Education research and development are well aligned to EDI values and approaches since they similarly mandate that all students have equal access to resources, regardless of their background.

Interviews

Online interviews were carried out from October to December 2020 with 12 Open Education experts across Latin America. To recruit such key experts in Latin America the OER World Map (n.d.) was used as a resource and the recruitment was led by authors with expertise and knowledge in the area (two Latin American authors were part of the team). A list of candidates was created and they were contacted via email. Therefore, a non-probability purposive quota sampling approach was adopted for data collection in this project (Suri 2011). By deliberately choosing participants based on their expertise, we increased our chances of collecting data that could better answer the research questions and meet the objectives of our study.

The 12 participants represented various Latin American countries, including Argentina (n = 1), Brazil (n = 2), Chile (n = 1), Colombia (n = 1), Costa Rica (n = 2), Ecuador (n = 1), Mexico (n = 2), Peru (n = 1), and Uruguay (n = 1). Before the commencement of the study, all participants received an Informed Consent package, ensuring they understood the purpose and processes involved. To protect their privacy, the identities of both the participants and their respective institutions were kept anonymous.

We used a semi-structured approach to the interviews as this offers flexibility to researchers to ask structured and unstructured questions, creating opportunities for follow-up questions, and the ability to delve deeper into the topics (Braun et al. 2017). The interview instrument was based on a series of questions trialled by the research team as follows:

1. What is your understanding of an ‘equitable, diverse and inclusive community’?

2. What is needed to foster an EDI community of practice?

3. Do you know of any open research communities? What do you think are their benefits?

4. What are the barriers to achieving such a community?

5. What is needed to overcome these barriers or obstacles?

6. Do you think support is needed in the Global South, particularly in Latin America, for PhD researchers and early career researchers in Open Education? What should this support look like?

7. How do we amplify the voices of researchers in Latin America?

8. What aspects are being taken for granted?

9. What existing structure or practices need to be challenged?

10. Can an EDI community operate in the open? In what ways?

11. What would be the most effective ways of communicating the existence of open research communities in your country? What strategies are needed to raise awareness?

The online interviews were conducted in English. However, two of our participants were not confident in their ability to speak English; they were asked to answer the interview questions in writing, which were then translated from Portuguese to English. Recorded interviews were transcribed, and transcripts were imported into the NVivo software for qualitative analysis.

Focus group

The preliminary results of the interviews were presented at a focus group workshop carried out on March 19, 2021. Focus groups were used in this study to help us gather further in-depth insights, explore diverse perspectives, and uncover underlying motivations and beliefs about topics (Kornbluh 2023). Recruitment of experts to participate in the two-hour online focus group was contingent on their previous participation in the online interviews. All experts who had participated in the online interviews were invited to participate in the focus group.

Out of the 12 participants who were interviewed, 4 joined the focus group discussion to explore the results. The main role of participants was to provide the researchers with validation of preliminary findings, feedback and additional data to support transparent, unbiased and collaborative discussions, which substantiated the final findings. During the focus groups, we discussed data from the preliminary findings in segments and subsequently provided questions based on these findings, enabling participants to validate and expand on them. Focus group discussions were structured around the following questions:

1. Defining EDI: What are your thoughts on this definition? Is there anything missing?

2. How can we reduce the barriers and increase equity, diversity and inclusion?

3. Preliminary findings: What are your thoughts on these findings? Would you add anything else to these findings that you think is important?

4. Key recommendations: What are your thoughts on these recommendations? Would you add any additional recommendations?

Data analysis

Thematic analysis was used to analyse the responses from the participants in this study. Following the approach described by Clarke and Braun (2017), familiarisation with data led to an initial set of codes, which were then organised and developed under themes, then defined and summarised. We followed an inductive approach to thematic analysis to identify themes from the data, rather than applying a predefined framework.

First, the 12 interviews were transcribed, and the transcripts were imported into qualitative analysis software (NVivo). That initial analysis examined responses to the questions included in the interviews and trends across the dataset using a deductive approach. Focus group discussions were also transcribed, and transcripts were imported into the software. Data analysis comprised examining responses to the questions in the focus groups and verifying whether there were any patterns or trends across the dataset.

For coder inter-rater reliability, findings were shared with stakeholders during the online focus group. In qualitative data analysis, this is known as member checking (McAlister et al. 2017). Thus, the validity and trustworthiness of all data were ensured through triangulation of all data collected, and strategies were adopted to assess the validity of qualitative findings by using rich, thick descriptions, member checking and peer review. While illustrative quotes are included, as indicated above, the data have been anonymised, and for attribution of quotes, the participants are referred to by letters.

How EDI impacts Latin America

EDI definitions. Regarding participants’ perceptions of an “equitable, diverse, and inclusive community,” most emphasised that key features of an EDI community of practice include accessibility, a sense of being valued, and growth opportunities. Additionally, participants pointed out that inequities persist within the OER movement due to geographical disparities. The discussion particularly centred on the concepts of “equity” and “inclusion,” which were highlighted as essential elements that not only support but also amplify the significance of “diversity”:

Participants also pointed out several factors with significant implications for equity, including insufficient consideration of local needs, inadequate investment in infrastructure, lack of infrastructure, limited awareness, and insufficient capacity building for utilising tools and engaging with OER. Notably, equitable and inclusive practices seem to be more readily and frequently implemented in developed countries compared to developing ones. Conversely, access to resources appears to have a positive impact on the latter.

It was emphasised that these concepts are closely linked to political factors and the policies implemented by individual countries. Additionally, disparities between states or regions within a country, the importance placed on educational equality, and cultural diversity across Latin American nations, and the limited collaboration or dialogue between these countries and their universities were highlighted. All these elements seem to hinder progress in EDI across Latin America, as explained by participant C below:

Funding, support and structure. When discussing the necessary conditions for fostering an EDI community, participants highlighted that there are other priorities and concerns that need to be addressed first, such as funding, support, and structural challenges. This is evidenced in the following response:

Being open and learning from others. Participants also emphasised several key factors necessary for fostering an EDI community, including mutual respect and a sense of belonging, as well as openness to learning from others regardless of their nationality or expertise. They highlighted the importance of creating a transparent community that provides clear guidance to its members. Additionally, valuing local research practices, acknowledging diverse personal styles, motivations, and interests, and addressing language barriers were identified as essential considerations.

English serves as the dominant global language, but certain cultural factors also pose challenges to building an EDI community of practice. For example, in regions like Latin America, a tendency toward competition and individualism rather than collaboration can hinder efforts to create inclusive communities. The lack of linguistic diversity further limits the expansion of the Open Education movement in Latin America, as most resources are primarily available in English. Additionally, participants questioned the dominance of the Global North in setting the standards for EDI in collaboration with the Global South. Genuine diversity and inclusion seem to emerge when an EDI community fully embraces diverse practices (such as alternative research methodologies) and acknowledges the effects of social aspects like varied backgrounds and identities. This requires recognising and valuing local research traditions while also respecting and understanding different personal styles, motivations, and interests as demonstrated below:

Overcoming barriers

Barriers to building the community. Participants identified several barriers to establishing a region-wide community of practice across different countries, including language and cultural differences, and a limited understanding of the benefits of open resources. Overcoming these challenges requires not only a shift in mindset but also targeted awareness-raising strategies to help stakeholders recognise the value of engaging in an open community. Additional obstacles mentioned included the absence of public policies that promote participation, insufficient institutional support, lack of funding, personal constraints, and inadequate structural frameworks, all of which were seen as significant barriers to involvement in open communities:

A common challenge for many Latin American higher education institutions is the way their departments and disciplines are structured, often operating in isolation from one another. This separation creates obstacles to communication, cooperation, and collaboration, making it difficult to establish open communities of practice. Additionally, the emphasis on disciplinary and scientific research—driven by the incentives provided for such work—combined with the lack of encouragement for research on teaching and learning processes was also identified as a barrier to fostering a wider sense of community.

How to overcome the barriers. Several participants suggested practical solutions, including defining a clear purpose, communication strategy, and identity for the community; promoting the benefits of research connected to open communities; implementing policies to fund Open Education research; and providing capacity-building opportunities for both researchers and basic education teachers on Open Educational Practices. Another solution proposed by a few participants was to build EDI communities of practice in Open Education in Latin America by integrating members from different Latin American countries who can then conduct research and disseminate good practices in Open Education in their own language. This quote below explains this solution:

Support

Support for early career researchers. There was a consensus among participants that PhD and early career researchers in Open Education in Latin America require significant support. However, opinions varied on the type of support needed. Some emphasised the importance of providing clear guidance and direction, while others proposed strategies such as training researchers to effectively use OER and Creative Commons licenses, improving technological infrastructure in schools, securing government funding for essential resources, teaching educators how to develop educational materials tailored to local needs, and training researchers in research dissemination. Additionally, participants also believe that support should involve sharing and promoting best practices, creating spaces for discussions on Open Education from a Latin American perspective, securing funding for research initiatives, and encouraging more research publications in Portuguese and Spanish.

Amplifying the voices in Latin America. Some participants believed that using social media to communicate and promote key Latin American events and conferences, as well as helping researchers connect with diverse audiences, were effective strategies to disseminate the work and amplify the voices of Latin American researchers in Open Education.

Other participants suggested that Latin American researchers should be encouraged to publish their work in English, instead of Spanish, when feasible, to expand their reach. Those who are proficient in multiple languages should also aim to publish in different languages.

Some participants firmly believe that the language barrier significantly hinders participation, publication and dissemination of research in Open Education within a predominantly English-speaking open community. However, one participant proposed the idea of establishing dedicated sections in high-impact journals to feature Latin American studies on Open Education, providing researchers with an opportunity to be on equal footing with their counterparts. These sections would be published in Spanish or Portuguese. Additionally, encouraging researchers to publish their work in open-access journals was seen as an effective way to amplify the voices and create more visibility of Latin American scholars working in the Open Education space.

Challenging what is taken for granted

Aspects taken for granted. Participants in this study highlighted one concern that could impede the development of Open Education research and practice in Latin America, which is the challenge of encouraging researchers from various countries to collaborate with each other. This is because countries in Latin America have different technological and infrastructural capabilities, they have different political views, different cultures and speak different languages even within the same country. Participants commented that collaboration amongst Latin American countries could be key to progressing Open Education and EDI principles in the region, but the above issues are often overlooked, resulting in unsuccessful initiatives. This concern is expressed by participant H:

Existing practices to be reconsidered. Participants shared various examples of practices that need to change and be reconsidered in Latin America to support research and interest in Open Education, including increased publication of scientific articles in Spanish, the development of more targeted public policies, improvements in digital infrastructure, and better promotion of existing OER repositories. They emphasised the importance of reducing educational inequalities and ensuring equitable and inclusive access for all. They also stressed the need for opportunities that would allow researchers to learn how to engage in Open Education research.

Participants also suggested several strategies for how an EDI community could function in an open environment in Latin America. These included supporting the development of open-source software, establishing local communities with objectives tailored to different countries in the region, offering training in Open Education, sharing best practices and research, and encouraging collaboration. Additionally, they recommended providing stakeholders from various countries with webinars, published materials, and resources to help them model open practices. They also proposed inviting both experienced and novice researchers, while offering funding for international publishing partnerships.

However, among the top concerns raised by some participants regarding how an EDI community could function openly were the inherent cultural differences and the lack of funding needed to establish such an initiative. It is worth noting that little data was collected that referred to technology directly. This could suggest that the participants don’t see the main barriers as technological in nature.

Capacity-building

In terms of opportunities, participants stated that a community of practice could provide several opportunities, such as helping scholars produce international-level standard papers of high quality and promoting and holding theoretical discussions on Open Education. These discussions would be aimed at helping stakeholders from Latin America develop their own personalised and conceptual theory on Open Education.

Belonging to a community of practice could enable members to collaboratively exchange and publish papers on different topics in the field of Open Education. This would help build capacity and disseminate research, creating visibility and further opportunities for scholars in Latin America. More publications from Latin America could be a way to reduce barriers and bring more visibility to the work that is done, as it would provide an opportunity for the Global North to better understand the work that is being undertaken in Latin America. Those challenges are in line with the literature around academic publishing complexities and the use of second languages in academia (Curry & Lillis 2004; Hyland 2016).

It is intriguing that some of the findings revealed that researchers themselves and their individual approaches could also be understood as barriers to be overcome. The Dubai Declaration (UNESCO 2024) is focused on precisely the issue of building capacity and sees emergent technologies (and particularly AI) as a viable route to this. Perhaps treating capacity building as a technical problem risks losing focus on the nuance of cultural issues. Underlying paradigms regarding capitalist forms of production and the very idea of Open Education must first be engaged in more fundamental and diverse ways through community engagement in order to realise the potential of new technologies. In some cases, it might be that the OER value proposition (Farrow & Díez-Arcón 2024) is communicated alongside AI rather than subsequently to it.

Policy development

The Dubai Declaration calls for the concrete implementation of strategy and policy alongside new legal frameworks that keep up to date with the latest developments in technology and intellectual property rights. OER activities can be supported by effective practice in metadata provision, improved guidance and training, policy transparency and greater coordination of the educational ecosystem. How do these recommendations relate to Latin America?

While research can be made more visible via publications, OER sharing and development tends to be more community-centred and is not usually disseminated or shared amongst countries in Latin America. This seems a missed opportunity given the languages held in common. There seems to be a lack of coordination amongst Latin American countries. A more coordinated and collaborative approach to open research and knowledge creation could potentially create a stronger sense of community that could improve research, practices and policies in Open Education in the region (Farrow et al. 2024).

However, as stated by some participants, Latin American countries are very different from each other and have different political ideologies that could hinder collaboration and the coordination of policy, research and OER development (Confraria, Godhino & Wang 2017; Lupu 2014). Therefore, countries’ political, economic and cultural contexts should be carefully considered to mitigate any issues that could emerge to ensure there are effective strategies that promote a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive community of practice amongst Latin American countries.

Through a coordinated approach to Open Education Latin American countries could showcase their existing expertise and knowledge to the rest of the world and develop further capacity in Open Education.

Inclusive and equitable access

According to the participants, effective ways of communicating the existence of open communities of practice must include: providing resources in Spanish or other languages; offering informative webinars and workshops in Spanish or other languages; providing the necessary support (e.g. short, clear guidelines in the local language); using different communication formats that highlight the benefits and advantages of belonging to the open communities of practice; and disseminating materials translated into the local language to graduate schools (Iniesto & Bossu 2023). Virtual spaces, in addition to face-to-face conferences that may not be accessible to all, are important as a means for networking and collaboration. It remains essential to consider aspects such as limited access to the internet or mobile devices (Iniesto & Bossu 2023).

The UN’s Global Digital Compact and UNESCO’s ROAM-X principles promote equality between stakeholders (in particular, gender equality) through rights, openness, universal access and participation (UNESCO 2024). These are aligned with technical solutions designed to support a more open education ecosystem, including designing for low bandwidth, improving the machine readability of OER, assistive technologies, and investment in relevant infrastructure. Perhaps the most relevant recommendation, though, concerns the use of AI to support translation and recontextualisation of OER which was consistently highlighted as a priority area in our data.

Sustainability models

Our findings highlight that sustainability in OER cannot be achieved solely through resource availability or policy frameworks; it also requires strong and resilient communities of practice. Participants underscored the importance of fostering collaboration not only between the Global North and the Global South, but crucially within Latin America itself, through regional exchanges and networks of practice (Bossu et al. 2019). This emphasis resonates with the Dubai Declaration’s call to nurture sustainable OER ecosystems through cooperation, knowledge-sharing, and capacity-building. While the diversity of political, social, cultural, economic, and educational contexts across Latin American countries inevitably shapes how such collaboration unfolds, our findings suggest that greater investment in regional network-building is essential for creating more cohesive and effective communities of practice. Strengthening these intra-regional ties could enhance sustainability by grounding OER initiatives in local epistemologies and shared regional priorities, rather than being overly dependent on external actors.

International cooperation

The Dubai Declaration (UNESCO 2024) recommends a range of approaches to strengthen collaboration, including the development of robust regional networks, joint production and sharing of OER, investment in capacity-building and training, and the modernisation of intellectual property frameworks. Our research echoes these priorities, with participants emphasising that while OER produced in the Global North may often be of high technical and pedagogical quality, they do not always address the specific needs, languages, or contexts of the Global South (Ossiannilsson 2019; Rodés & Iniesto 2021). This recognition highlights the importance of Latin American stakeholders working collaboratively to create OER that are better aligned with their own realities and priorities.

A recurring theme was the need to enhance the visibility of Latin American initiatives by publishing in Spanish and Portuguese to strengthen regional exchanges, while also engaging with international audiences through English-language outputs. Such dual strategies could enable advocates and researchers to share experiences more widely, build coalitions, and generate innovative practices. The use of AI-enabled translation systems, combined with community-led outreach, was seen as a practical means of lowering language barriers that directly supports UNESCO’s (2024) call for inclusive, human-centred digital innovation.

At the same time, participants cautioned that technology can amplify existing inequalities if implemented without sensitivity to local contexts. Emerging regional networks in Latin America encompass diverse stakeholders with distinct social, political, and cultural orientations. When Global North approaches assume universal values or prioritise individualistic models of knowledge-sharing, they may clash with collectivist or hierarchical traditions common in parts of the region (Wolbring & Nguyen 2023).