Abstract:

Micro-credentials, digital badges, and Open Badges as new trends in education play an important role in the creation of the future of learning as a sustainable process that offers multiple ways of skills recognition. Such credentials have appeared over the last decade and represent knowledge, skills, and social competencies, which is an option to traditional full qualifications. However, the lack of standardization of terms across the globe, and especially in Poland has led to the emergence of different definitions and uses. Whereas micro-credentials are closely associated with traditional and particularly higher education, digital and Open Badges are more common in non-formal learning and lifelong learning settings. The adoption of these credentials has profound implications for the education system. On the positive side, they support the development of modularity and personalization of curricula so that learners can cheaply acquire online courses and demonstrate particular competencies. This has created an environment of learning throughout the lifespan as well as equality in education. However, challenges persist. Perceiving skills as separate entities may harm the importance of the big picture and weaken the reputation of standard university diplomas. Furthermore, this trend is consistent with market-oriented logic, thus reopening the debate on the roles of universities in today’s digital society. In this paper, the effects of micro-credentials are discussed and the ways they can help close the gap between education and employment are outlined, as well as possible disadvantages. This work serves to establish the need for proper coordination between innovation and traditional traditionalism in education while embracing micro-credentials as a critical component of future sustainable and inclusive education systems.