BackHome
Refresh: OffView Personal Schedule
Session Submission Summary
Share...

Direct link:

Open Access Journals & Publishing: Inclusion Within Neoliberalism Contexts

Sat, March 22, 1:15 to 2:30pm, Palmer House, Floor: 7th Floor, LaSalle 1

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Introduction
Access to scholarly publications has historically been restricted. In the last century, access was primarily confined to subscription-based journals available through academic institutions, creating significant barriers to knowledge dissemination. Due to its global nature, the field of comparative and international education has been especially affected by these disparities, as financial and linguistic barriers have limited access to essential scholarly publications. To address this, initiatives like the Comparative Education Review (CER) Bibliography were developed, broadening access to journals that were otherwise difficult to find (Raby, 1998).
With the advent of digitalization, OA Journals proliferated; and with clear peer-review policies, they started being indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and Ulrich’s Web databases (Stambach et al., 2011). However, open-access (OA) journals were initially met with skepticism, particularly concerning their reliability and ethical standards (Beall, 2012). Despite these early concerns, OA journals have become a critical component of the scholarly ecosystem, offering unprecedented access to research. Yet, they also introduce complex challenges related to fairness, transparency, and sustainability, especially within the context of neoliberalism. This panel will delve into these challenges, focusing on how the dynamics of OA publishing impact access to knowledge, particularly in the global landscape of higher education.

Relevance to CIES Conference Theme and Higher Education SIG
This panel features representatives from four international higher education OA international journals based in the United States, Mexico, and Colombia, including the Critical Internationalization Studies Review, Revista de Educación Superior en América Latina, and Revista Educación Global. These journals are dedicated to expanding access to scholarly work without charge, thereby democratizing knowledge. However, they also face challenges related to sustainability and equity within neoliberal contexts. The panel will critically examine these issues, discussing how OA journals have reshaped scholarly publishing while navigating the complexities of market-driven forces, including contentious topics such as the use of Article Processing Charges (APCs) for financial support. This panel is closely aligned with the CIES 2025 theme, "Envisioning Education in a Digital Society," as it addresses the critical role of digitalization in the proliferation of OA journals. This discussion is particularly relevant to the Higher Education SIG, as it explores how these journals contribute to the broader field of comparative and international higher education.

Background and Conceptual Framework
OA publishing offers various models, each with different implications for accessibility and cost. Green OA involves self-archiving preprints or post-prints in repositories, while Gold OA provides access on publisher websites, sometimes with hidden fees. Hybrid OA combines subscription and open-access models, often for a fee, and Diamond OA is fully funded by associations, making it free for authors and readers. However, Gold OA's APCs, ranging from $900 to $4,482, introduce significant financial burdens, often leading to systemic inequities. Authors from prestigious Minority World institutions, particularly men in STEM fields, are more likely to afford these fees and to publish more frequently (Frank et al., 2023), exacerbating disparities for scholars in the Majority World (Baki & Hussein, 2021; Jain et al., 2021; Mekonnen et al., 2022). Moreover, journals with high APCs often correlate with higher citations and prestige, sidelining journals without such fees. This commercialized landscape challenges the principles of OA by making cost a barrier to both publishing and accessing scholarly work, complicating efforts to democratize knowledge.
This panel will critically examine OA Journals through the lens of academic capitalism, a framework that emphasizes the marketization of higher education and its impact on knowledge production (Slaughter & Rhoades, 2004). As universities and scholars increasingly engage in market-driven behaviors—such as the commercialization of research—the influence of neoliberal policies becomes evident. While OA journals democratize knowledge by offering free access to scholarly work, they also face significant challenges. The technological infrastructure required for digital publishing, including platforms, licenses, repositories, and DOI registration, demands substantial financial investment. These costs are often shifted to authors, institutions, or professional associations, reflecting the broader trend of transferring financial burdens within academic capitalism.
Non-Diamond OA models, which charge fees for article submission and/or publication, are an example of the commodification of academic knowledge; further reinforced as commercial publishers capitalize on the prestige of certain journals. In response, some universities and professional associations–like the ones represented in this panel–allocate funds to support OA publishing as part of their academic missions. However, this financial support is not universally available, leading to disparities in who can afford to publish. This panel will explore these dynamics, assessing how academic capitalism shapes the operations, accessibility, and equity of OA journals, particularly in the US and Latin American contexts.

Mode of Inquiry
The panelists will engage in a structured dialogue, addressing key questions related to the funding, sustainability, and equity of OA journals within neoliberal contexts. Key questions include:
1) Initial Considerations: What role did funding play when establishing your journal, and how were financial models and sustainability strategies developed?
2) Challenges and Barriers: When did financial pressures start affecting the ability to maintain true OA, and how have they influenced the journal’s operations and accessibility?
3) Neoliberal Impacts: How has the neoliberal context shaped your OA journal’s operations? What tensions exist between maintaining open access and the market-driven imperatives of academic capitalism?
4) Equity and Access: How have financial constraints impacted equity for authors and readers, especially those in the Majority World? What strategies have mitigated these disparities?
5) Future Directions: What steps can ensure the sustainability of OA journals, and how do you foresee their future role in democratizing knowledge?

Conclusions
While OA publishing holds potential to democratize research and provide access to publication for both authors and readers, rising publication costs and lack of ethical practices in some proprietary OA journals negatively impact underfunded authors and perpetuate inequalities (Raby & Kamyab, 2023). Many OA journals aim to democratize knowledge, but they are neither free nor costless, challenging their role as a publishing equalizer. This panel aims to bring fresh perspectives and voices to the academic discourse on OA journals, highlighting the complex challenges and opportunities they present in the context of academic capitalism.

Sub Unit

Organizer

Chair

Individual Presentations

Discussant