Can micro-credentials serve the needs of diverse people through deeper partnerships and digital pedagogy?

Abstract

In recent years, we have seen the ‘rise of the micro-credential movement’ (Brown, McGreal & Peters, 2023) From a people perspective, they promise more flexible and wider access to learning that can be more easily interwoven through people’s life and work demands. They can offer more choices around the duration, pace, focus and purpose of learning. Further, micro-credentials can be used as a pathway into or through a macro-credential and showcase employability skills gained in and beyond formal learning environments. Growing global narratives around micro-credentials suggest they can potentially solve a multitude of challenges that have long been constrained by traditional education models. This interactive symposium offers an opportunity to explore the emerging potential of micro-credentials with consideration to diverse people, deeper partnerships and digital pedagogies. Using these foci, this symposium will facilitate engaging discussion and examination of this new and evolving topic.