Purpose

The study aims to investigate whether participation to massive open online courses (MOOCs) may lead to labor market returns and through which mechanisms such relative advantage may take place. Indeed, despite high figures of registered users, empirical studies on occupational returns are limited and MOOCs may represent a viable, cost-efficient example of lifelong learning practice to respond to the demand of a better skilled workforce for the fourth industrial revolution.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on qualitative empirical material constituted by a set of 21 qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted in 2019 among learners who registered in MOOCs provided by European higher education institutions.

Findings

Interviews return a situation in which MOOCs are beneficial for work: learners appreciate the new knowledge and skills they can access, with time flexibility and low entry cost. However, MOOCs positive contribution is not at everyone’s reach: self-selection issues tend to further advantage individuals with high levels of education and individual resources. Moreover, MOOCs can increase the risk of a shift of responsibility for training to the employees and qualify as a lower tier type of qualification, reinforcing social closure mechanisms based on educational credentials.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the empirical analysis of MOOCs economic returns empirically, by providing original qualitative material. Second, it contributes theoretically by bridging literature on economic and occupational returns to education on one side and literature on digital technologies in education on the other, providing new insights on the potentials and limits of MOOCs as a new form of lifelong learning.

中文翻译：

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“慕课对提高劳动力技能的贡献”

目的

该研究旨在调查参与大规模开放在线课程 (MOOC) 是否会带来劳动力市场回报，以及这种相对优势可能通过哪些机制产生。事实上，尽管注册用户数量很高，但对职业回报的实证研究有限，并且 MOOC 可能是一个可行的、具有成本效益的终身学习实践的例子，以响应第四次工业革命对技能更高的劳动力的需求。

设计/方法/方法

该研究基于定性经验材料，该材料由 21 次定性半结构化访谈组成，这些访谈于 2019 年在欧洲高等教育机构提供的 MOOC 注册的学习者中进行。

发现

面试反映了 MOOC 有利于工作的情况：学习者欣赏他们可以获得的新知识和技能，时间灵活，入门成本低。然而，MOOC 的积极贡献并不是每个人都能达到的：自我选择问题往往会进一步使具有高教育水平和个人资源的个人更有利。此外，MOOC 可以增加将培训责任转移给员工的风险，并有资格作为较低级别的资格类型，加强基于教育证书的社会封闭机制。

原创性/价值

该研究通过提供原始的定性材料，有助于实证分析 MOOC 的经济回报。其次，它通过将一方面关于经济和职业回报对教育的文献与另一方面关于教育中数字技术的文献联系起来，在理论上做出贡献，为 MOOC 作为一种新的终身学习形式的潜力和局限性提供了新的见解。