ABSTRACT

Researchers have investigated the demography and styles of engagement of those who enroll in MOOCs but have lent little attention to how learners navigate MOOCs’ ambiguity as academic certifications. Analyzing semi-structured interviews with 60 people who devoted substantial time to at least one MOOC between 2014–2017, we find that people use MOOCs to build skills for application at work and home, build relationships, navigate life transitions, and enhance formal presentations of self, at the same time that they disagree on the meaning of MOOC completions as official academic accomplishments. Our findings build theory on the multi-dimensional character of credential prestige that can inform educational social scientists and credential providers in an increasingly complicated postsecondary ecosystem.

摘要

研究人员研究了MOOC入学者的人口统计和参与方式，但对学习者如何克服MOOC作为学历证书的含糊之处关注得很少。通过对60位在2014年至2017年间投入大量时间从事至少一项MOOC工作的人的半结构化访谈进行分析，我们发现人们使用MOOC来培养在工作和家庭中应用的技能，建立关系，应对生活转变并增强以下方面的正式陈述：自我，与此同时，他们不同意MOOC完成作为官方学术成就的含义。我们的发现建立在信誉声望的多维特征上的理论，可以在日益复杂的中学后生态系统中为教育社会科学家和证书提供者提供信息。