Mobilizing Curriculum Studies in a (Virtual) World: Open Access, Edupunks, and the Public Good - Paper

Oct 15, 2026

Higher education fails to deliver universal access despite equity imperatives promoted by nation-states and UNESCO. This paper examines (cyber)spaces occupied or unoccupied by higher education through the lens of curriculum studies, arguing that the World Wide Web can support the democratization of education. It also presents a small-scale empirical study showing that making research Open Access does not reduce impact and may increase it.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Equity and universal access

Open education and curriculum studies gap

Background and Edupunk concept

Historical and notable examples

Edupunk/open education initiatives

Freire, Addams, and emancipatory technologies

Open Access in curriculum studies

Lévinux and integrating open access software

Findings and implications

Open access impact on research

Mobilizing Curriculum Studies in a (Virtual) World: Open Access, Edupunks, and the Public Good Julie Ann Corrigan University of Ottawa Nicholas Ng-A-Fook University of Ottawa Abstract Despite societal imperatives for equity—whether espoused by nation-states or transnational agencies like UNESCO—current models of higher education are unequivocally failing to provide universal access. This paper seeks to explore the (cyber)spaces (un)occupied by higher education, specifically in the area of curriculum studies, arguing that the World Wide Web can be used to effect the democratization of education. Further, it argues for the benefits of Open Access research by means of a small-scale empirical study, the results of which indicate that making research openly accessible does not diminish the impact of research, but rather may actually increases it. Keywords: Open Access, Open Education, curriculum studies, higher education, Web 2.0 Résumé Malgré les impératifs sociétaux d’équité, partagés par les États-nations ou par les agences transnationales telle que l’UNESCO, les modèles actuels de l’éducation supérieure échouent de manière non-équivoque à fournir un accès universel. Cet article vise à explorer les espaces (cybernétiques) occupés ou non par l’éducation supérieure, particulièrement dans le domaine des études de cursus, défendant l’idée que le Web peut être utilisé pour mettre en œuvre ladémocratisation de l’éducation. De plus, il défend les bénéfices de la recherche à libre accès par le biais d’une étude empirique à petite échelle, dont les résultats suggèrent qu’ouvrir l’accès aux recherches ne diminue pas l’impact de la recherche, mais pourrait plutôt l’augmenter. Mots clés: Libre accès, apprentissage ouvert, études de cursus, éducation supérieure, Web 2.0 CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 35, 2 (2012): 58-76 ©2011 Canadian Society for the Study of Education/ Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation Mobilizing Curriculum Studies in a (Virtual) World: Open Access, Edupunks, and the Public Good Knowledge is a common good, just like water and air. (Daignault, 2011) In Education, while some fields of academic inquiry have been quick to embrace the potentialities of Open Ed and Open Access (OA) 1—including wider accessibility, greater opportunities for collaboration, a broader diversity of perspectives, more creative formatting options, and sensitivity to ecological and financial sustainability—the field of curriculum studies has some catching up to do. Many current and past educators—whom some might calledupunks—have made it their raison d’être to make education more accessible to the masses. Coined by Jim Groom, educational technologist from the University of Mary Washington, the term edupunk connotes “an approach to teaching and learning practices that result [sic] from a do it yourself (DIY) attitude (“Edupunk,” 2011, n.p.) . New York Times columnist Tom Kuntz (2008) defines it as “an approach to teaching that avoids mainstream tools like PowerPoint and Blackboard, and instead aims to bring the rebellious attitude and D.I.Y. ethos of ’70s bands like The Clash to the classroom.” Notable historical examples include Brazilian radical educator Paulo Freire or the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Jane Addams; more recent examples include Canadian curriculum scholars like Jacques Daignault and John Willinsky. In the 1960s, Freire used slide projectors displaying codified pictures to teach peasants how to read, reading being a prerequisite for voting. Later, in the 1990s when he became education minister, Freire established the Central Laboratory for Educational Informatics, equipped with televisions, video recorders, sound machines, and microcomputers. Freire saw these technologies as tools for emancipation. For her part, Jane Addams established Hull House, which “reached out to immigrants, to labourers, to mothers and children, to all in an urbanindustrial community who needed or wa

FAQs

What problem does the paper identify in higher education access?

It argues that current higher education models fail to provide universal access, despite equity goals promoted by states and UNESCO.

How does the paper propose to democratize education through curriculum studies?

It contends that the World Wide Web can be used to enable the democratization of education, particularly within curriculum studies.

What does the empirical study suggest about Open Access research impact?

The results indicate that openly accessible research does not diminish impact and may actually increase it.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Alexandar