Date of Award:

12-2023

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

School of Teacher Education and Leadership

Committee Chair(s)

Amanda Taggart

Committee

Amanda Taggart

Committee

Mario I. Suarez

Committee

Sylvia Read

Committee

Alyson Lavigne

Committee

Richard West

Abstract

This study examined the population of users of the Utah Microcredentials system, a professional learning resource available to all Utah teaching license holders. A microcredential verifies that an educator has successfully demonstrated competency with a specific skill, concept, or instructional tool, and is awarded upon submission of evidence meeting a predetermined set of rubric criteria. During the first stage of the study, quantitative methods such as regression analysis were used to determine the participation rates of educators based on a number of demographic variables, including age, number of years of service as an educator, the rurality of the educator's assigned school, and the Title I status of the educator's assigned school. Stage two used qualitative methods to analyze the characteristics of microcredentials with the highest rates of participation. The results of this study can be used at a number of levels to increase the effectiveness of public education in supporting student outcomes. At the local level, the findings can be used to guide the ongoing development of the Utah Microcredentials platform, ecosystem (microcredential catalog), and user support systems. At the national and international levels, these findings can be used to guide the development of digital credentialing systems in a wide range of fields beyond public education. These findings also point to new routes of investigation for further research.

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