Open Educational Practices in Higher Education and Science: Participation, Innovation, and Sustainability
A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Higher Education".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2026 | Viewed by 192
Editor
Interests: open practices; open science; open education; open educational resources; science communication; interdisciplinarity; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Open educational practices in higher education and science are driving meaningful transformation concerning how knowledge is created, shared, and applied. By embedding openness into teaching, learning, and research, universities and scientific communities can foster participation, stimulate innovation, and advance sustainability across disciplines and stakeholder groups.
This Special Issue explores how open educational practices shape academic culture in higher education and science, with a particular focus on three interconnected dimensions: participation—enabling students, educators, researchers, and communities to engage actively in knowledge production; innovation—developing novel approaches to teaching, learning, and research through open pedagogies and open science practices; and sustainability—promoting education for sustainable development (ESD) and ensuring equitable, long-term access to knowledge resources.
Contributions are invited that examine strategies, empirical findings, and best practices supporting the integration of openness in higher education and scientific contexts. This Special Issue welcomes interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives, addressing both opportunities and barriers in implementing open practices at individual, institutional, and systemic levels.
This Special Issue welcomes contributions addressing themes including, but not limited to, the following areas:
- Open Educational Practices and Participation: How do open practices enable active participation of students, educators, and researchers in higher education?
- Innovation through Open Pedagogy and Open Science: How do open pedagogies and open science approaches foster innovation in teaching and research?
- Sustainability and Open Education: How do open educational practices contribute to education for sustainable development (ESD) and equitable knowledge access?
- Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Collaboration: How can open practices foster new forms of collaboration across disciplines and sectors in higher education?
- Open Science in Academic Contexts: The impact of open science on research integrity, transparency, and reproducibility in higher education institutions.
- Challenges and Best Practices in Implementation: What are the barriers to adopting open educational practices in higher education, and how can they be addressed?
- Motivations and Incentives for Openness: What drives individuals and institutions in higher education to adopt open practices?
- Internationalization and Knowledge Equity: How do open educational practices facilitate international collaboration and reduce knowledge inequities?
- Open Access and Open Educational Resources: The role of open resources in reducing barriers to knowledge and supporting inclusive higher education.
Dr. Mirjam Braßler
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- open educational practices
- open science
- open pedagogy
- higher education
- participation
- innovation
- sustainability
- education for sustainable development
- open access
- interdisciplinarity
- knowledge equity
- academic culture
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