Marketing micro-credentials: An analysis of actors, voices and messages in educational innovation discourse

ABSTRACT

Much has been written about the potential of micro-credentials to revitalise and modernise Australian higher education offerings, and to create forms of educational credit linked more meaningfully with industry. Proponents of micro-credentials speak from a range of standpoints: public education institutions, private companies, industry associations, governments, educational technology businesses and more. This review examines the neoliberal reasoning inherent in micro-credential-promoting discourse, both in Australia and globally. It shows that micro-credentials are conceived as a form of product innovation which increase the provider pool to include private companies and technology intermediaries, while students are cast as independent consumers, perpetually responsible for self-managing their own employability education, but this analysis finds student voices and perspectives are absent from the discourse.

KEYWORDS:

• Unbundled education
• lifelong learning
• credentialism
• employability
• students as consumers
• neoliberalism

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Miriam Reynoldson

Miriam Reynoldson is a digital learning specialist with experience spanning higher and vocational education, teacher development and organisational capability. Her research is focused on the value and impact of lifelong learning, exploring the societal implications of educational innovations. In addition to her studies at the University of Melbourne, Miriam teaches educational design at Monash University and leads online program design projects at RMIT University.