This study explores the use of micro-credential as an innovative curriculum design for addressing individuals' needs and the industry's demands. Specifically, since offering micro-credentials is relatively new in the Philippines, the study proposed a curriculum development model that will be useful in guiding curriculum experts and educational…

Nationally, the labor market is seeking workers to fill the increasing number of high salary job vacancies, but those qualified to fill them are in limited supply. The skills and third-party industry credentials earned in secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs seem a perfect fit for the student, employer, and economy. However,…

This paper argues that micro-credentials are gig credentials for the gig economy. Micro-credentials are short competency-based industry-aligned units of learning, while the gig economy comprises contingent work by individual 'suppliers'. Both can be facilitated by (often the same) digital platforms, and both are underpinned by social relations of…

The relationship between learning and labor has long been a topic of concern for sociologists of education. In this dissertation, I conduct an ethnography of open learning in the United States following the 2008 economic crisis and argue that a new style of learning is emerging amidst changes in the labor market. I call that new style of learning…

Over the past few years, as the nation has attempted to emerge from a recession, people are increasingly turning to education as a means to return to work in an economy that demands new skills and a larger number of knowledge-based workers. The demand for more education has resulted in increased enrollments in postsecondary institutions,…

In response to the declining international ranking in the percentage of young adults with a postsecondary credential, President Obama, philanthropic and policy organizations, and states have set bold goals essentially to double the number of postsecondary degrees and certificates produced in the next 8 to 13 years. Behind this commitment to…

Decades ago, most U.S. companies hired locally, few jobs required a college education and even high school dropouts could find well-paying work. However, the world has changed. With automation and overseas outsourcing eliminating many low-skilled jobs--and, increasingly, many higher-skilled ones--more and more Americans need postsecondary…