This thesis seeks to clarify the meaning of the open learning concept by examining it in alternative ways--as an element of social theory, as an intended curriculum, and as a perceived student learning experience. The three curriculum conceptions of open learning are applied to the Australian Open Learning Iniative. Students' curriculum experiences are studied by means of a series of telephone interviews with a targeted sample of 44 students registered with Open Learning Australia in the first study period of 1993. The study identifies the learners' context as a significant but previously unacknowledged constraint on students' decisionmaking and learner control of curriculum. It notes the transfer of control over entering a program of study is not automatically conferred by an open admissions policy, but is, instead, dependent on providers meeting the information needs of students. Chapters include: (1) "Open Learning: A Coat of Many Colours"; (2) "A Conceptual Framework for the Analysis of Curriculum Control in Open Learning"; (3) "Philosophy and Method"; (4) "Theoretical Conceptions of Open Learning"; (5) "Intentions Shaping Curriculum Formation in the OLI (Open Learning Initiative)"; (6) "Learners' Experiences as Curriculum Decision Makers on Open Learning"; (7) "New Meaning for Open Learning"; and (8) "Making the Most of Open Learning." Appendixes include sources of personal communications, a letter to students, demographic profiles of student respondents and the interviewed sample, endnotes, and student interview themes. (Contains 479 references.) (Author)