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Extending micro-credentials to micro-apprenticeships for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Enhancing vocational education and training in the post-pandemic’s ‘new normal’
Full text linkAs noted in the foreword of this Special Issue, COVID-19 has accelerated the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s or Industry 4.0’s disruption to the labour market (Sally, 2021). Beyond Industry 4.0 (I4.0), the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies by enterprises, underscoring the need for workers to continuously upskill their digital competencies in order to remain relevant (Heinonen & Strandvik, 2021). Besides digitisation, organisations have had to innovate and adopt new business models to adapt to the ‘new normal’ of surviving and growing beyond the COVID-19 pandemic (Heinonen & Strandvik, 2021). In countries that largely relied on skilled migration as an important source of talent, the closure of international borders has restricted mobility of human capital resulting in insufficient skilled employees to meet the current and ever-increasing demand for skills (Guadagno, 2020)
Micro-credentials: A learner value framework: Provocation
No full textMuch has been made of micro-credentials, and the ‘craze’ (Ralston, 2021) and ‘hype’ (Roy & Clark, 2019) they generate. One of the barriers to their success is that a definition of micro-credentials has not been widely agreed (Kato, Galán-Muros, & Weko, 2020). However, to succeed, micro-credentials need not just a definition, but a way to ensure they are valued, and bring value to key stakeholders: particularly learners, employers and providers. To this end, this provocation proposes a micro-credential value framework that sets out their key benefits and costs for learners.
 
Older TikTokers in Digital Capitalism: Construction of Persona and Agency
Full text linkSocial media platforms allow users to intentionally present themselves and engage with narrower and broader audiences, which has resulted in the proliferation of online personas. However, these online personas often align with existing social norms regarding primary axes of social stratification to achieve high publicity. What options are available for users who are not the primary target group due to their age? By what means can someone considered an older content creator gain publicity?
This study examines how content creators over sixty construct their online personas on Hungarian-speaking TikTok. Is it possible to categorise and typify them? How do these personas reflect the experience of ageing? What different social roles do they emphasise as part of their online persona?
This research uses a framework based on Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical model to examine the short TikTok videos, supplemented by visual and verbal video analysis and discourse analysis. Five distinct online personas were identified as constructed by older content creators, each with different goals, themes, tools, and reflections on ageing. Gender issues emerged as a key finding of the research, as did how these TikTokers engage with the platform’s capitalist dynamics
Supporting assessment of EAL/D student writing: A concrete example of exploring genre-based feedback in pre-service teacher education coursework
Full text linkProviding useful feedback on student writing is a challenging task, requiring an understanding of the specific language expectations in assignments teachers give students. Studies have shown that teachers are more likely to give corrective feedback on surface-level errors than attend to meaning-making linguistic resources. The question is how to prepare teachers in pre-service teacher education to notice and respond to genre and register expectations. This paper shares one concrete example from an educational linguistics course in a master’s degree program in education with a secondary school teaching certification in the United States. Pre-service teachers from five different disciplines were instructed on basic concepts related to systemic functional linguistics and their utility in recognizing and unpacking the norms of disciplinary language. The paper explores how and to what extent nine of the pre-service teachers in the course targeted surface-level or meaning-making writing skills when using a genre-based rubric and when subsequently considering lesson activities. The analysis shows that the pre-service teachers incorporated genre-based ideas in their feedback but struggled to move away from teaching activities that focused on prescriptive, constrained skills. We conclude by discussing what genre-based activities can offer in initial teacher education and argue for the need for more explicit sharing of teacher education instructional strategies
Developing countries don’t need saving: They may need support
Full text linkThis article challenges the paternalistic mindset often embedded in international development discourse, arguing that developing countries require respectful support rather than saving. Drawing on the author’s personal experiences in Eswatini and other contexts, alongside scholarly insights, it explores the complex realities faced by local communities and highlights the transformative role of education in fostering sustainable development that goes beyond the saving mentality. Central to this argument is the cultivation of intercultural competence and critical thinking in both developing and developed contexts. Education can bridge cultural divides, promote empathy, and empower communities to pursue change while maintaining autonomy. The paper contends that English language teaching, beyond its linguistic goals, holds significant potential to advance these aims by facilitating dialogue, reshaping attitudes, and encouraging context-sensitive perspectives. To enable such transformative practice, educators must engage with authentic voices both inside and outside the classroom and be supported with appropriate resources and training
Perceived professional identity formation and influencing characteristics among speech pathology students
Full text linkWhile professional identity formation (PIF) is an important facet of employability and becoming a health professional, there has been little research on PIF among speech pathology (SP) students. This single group, cross-sectional study explored perceived PIF among SP students at a large, urban, Australian university selected via stratified sampling from a four-year undergraduate program. Using an established online self-assessment tool to measure perceived employability, the study reports on seven related constructs relevant to PIF. The self-assessment has previously been found to have strong validity and reliability and the subset used in this study likewise had strong validity and reliability. There were 84 participants and the PIF constructs were: self and program awareness (SPA); identification with commitment (IC); reconsideration of commitment (RC); self-esteem (SE); perceived program relevance (PPR); career exploration and awareness (CEA); and ethical and responsible behaviour (ERB). Descriptive and multivariate statistics were used to estimate the proportion of variance for year level and individual characteristics for each construct and overall PIF. Perceived professional identity increased from first to fourth year, significant only for SPA, IC and PPR constructs. Students aged over 25 years self-rated significantly higher on ERB than younger students, as did students studying part-time compared to those studying full-time. Participants not engaged in paid work had significantly higher SE than those who were working, as did students from low socio-economic status (SES) compared with medium or high SES students. No differences were found for other individual characteristics, although some group sizes were very small. Recommendations to enhance PIF include incorporating a range of reflective activities, assertiveness training and opportunities to explore ethical dilemmas within the curriculum
To what extent do Australian universities offer dedicated units to prepare pre-service teachers to support EAL/D learners?
Full text linkFramed by social justice perspectives, in this article, we present our findings from an audit of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) degrees offered by Australian universities. The purpose is to establish which degrees (and universities) offered dedicated English as an Additional Language and/or Dialect (EAL/D) units that explicitly and solely focus on EAL/D learning and teaching, as core units or elective units, or as a specialisation for secondary ITE courses. To do this, we analysed the publicly available unit titles and descriptions on university websites for 37 Australian universities, representing 215 undergraduate and postgraduate ITE degrees in early childhood, primary and secondary education offered in 2024 and the beginning of 2025. The data were categorised using an EAL/D unit identification tool that we developed. Our findings show that while some universities are preparing teachers to support the EAL/D learners in their classrooms, many are not. This is tied to the accreditation process for ITE degrees and the role that the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) teacher standards play. Given the clear need, this lack of recognition and failure to adequately allocate resources towards meeting the needs of EAL/D learners is a social justice issue, and we end with a plea for change in this area
Examining the situational contexts and language use in multilingual writing for teacher capacity building
Full text linkAnalyzing student writing samples situationally and linguistically allows teachers to better grasp the registers of secondary writing and the experiences of multilingual learners of English (MLE). Using a qualitative case study methodology, this study aims to demonstrate how to analyze the situational contexts and language use in MLE writing by comparing two different letter writing tasks completed in U.S. high school science courses. The data sources included ethnographic interviews with MLEs and their science teacher, and student writing samples from refugee-background MLEs. The results indicate similarities and differences in the situational contexts of the two writing tasks, leading to the use of clauses and noun phrases for different functional reasons. Specifically, variations in communicative purposes, teacher expectations, and interactions among the participants resulted in distinct writing processes and experiences. The study provides insights into how MLEs functionally employed clausal and phrasal linguistic features to achieve their writing goals. The study offers practical implications for teachers and teacher educators to develop register awareness and enhance support for multilingual writers across content areas
Book Review: Will, L., Stadler, W., Eloff, I. (Eds.). (2022). Authenticity across languages and cultures. Multilingual Matters.
No full textOver the past four decades, many definitions of authenticity in language education have been prevalent (e.g., Breen, 1985; Roach et al., 2018; Widdowson, 1990). However, given the theoretical literature on authenticity abounding in works with limited scope (i.e., language teaching and language materials), context (i.e., English-speaking societies), and theory (i.e., second language acquisition theories), further studies are needed to integrate the existing findings for a comprehensive discussion of authenticity in second/foreign language education. To that end, Authenticity across Languages and Cultures: Themes of Identity in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning, edited by Leo Will, Wolfgang Stadler, and Irma Eloff, aimed to reveal the emerging understating of this concept in the light of other theoretical frameworks, diverse contexts, and curricular dimensions
Credentialing micro credentials
Full text linkThe core purpose of accrediting educational credentials is to establish their conformity with standards established for educational credentials in general, particularly those offered by other institutions and in other fields. Educational accreditation integrates educational credentials within a network of all other educational credentials and their processes for assuring standards and quality. These processes are essentially conservative, being designed to minimise the risk of a failure of standards or quality. There are also pragmatic obstacles to recording multiple credentials from different sources within education’s accreditation system.
In contrast, the recognition of expertise in employment is embedded within employment. The core criterion for the recognition of expertise in employment is the practitioner’s integration within a specific field of practice if not a site of employment. Comparability and still less similarity of practice with other fields and sites is irrelevant to the recognition of expertise in employment.
Inasmuch as micro credentials seek to develop employability they are markedly different from programs that develop educational knowledge and skills. While such micro credentials may be recognised in employment, they seem incompatible with educational accreditation. The little evidence available is that micro credentials do not have strong employment outcomes.
Micro credentials seem unlikely to address inequality in higher education which reflects deep and pervasive inequalities in society, and seem unlikely to strengthen links between education and work which depends as much on the structure of work and the labour market, and the cognitive content of jobs