Exploring the antecedents of sustainable open educational resources continuance among university students

Abstract

: This study examined how sustainable open educational resources (OER) support is associated with university students’ intention to continue using open educational resources. A sample of 328 Chinese university students (females = 54.0%; 58.2% undergraduates) from an international university that had integrated sustainable OER courses into its learning system completed measures of OER course structure, course accessibility, digital self-efficacy, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and OER continuance intention. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling, the results showed that sustainable OER support—conceptualized as an integrated support ecosystem—was positively associated with both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The findings extend the Technology Acceptance Model by demonstrating that institutional support is associated with OER continuance intention through students’ psychological evaluations. Practically, the results suggest that higher education institutions should emphasize coherent course design, equitable access, and the cultivation of students’ digital self-efficacy to promote continuous engagement with OER.