Learning through micro-credential experiences in Puerto Rican students: An exploration of Bank of America Jobs Initiative (BofA) perceived value

Abstract

This study uncovers students, professors, and employers’ perceived value of micro-credential certification programs. Using a phenomenological methodology, we unveiled the meaning of participants’ shared experiences. We performed a narrative analysis of students' written assessments and built a robust information-gathering structure with professors'/employers' interviews. The construction of the certification perceived value is mainly based upon the affective domain of learning, producing connected representations from participant students, employers, and professors. For students, those representations include power, effort, nourishment, and closeness. For employers, themes are benefit and construction/deconstruction, whereas professors emphasized the figure of the teacher and freedom. Those representations build a figure of value perceived of the micro-credential consisting of knowledge, development tools, and affective connections in the context of deinstitutionalization processes.