UPAL 2026 publications | Tailoring micro-credentials for diverse learners: a qualitative study of motivations and course-design preferences in European higher education

Micro-credentials have emerged as a bridge between formal education and the labour market, yet they are often framed narrowly as tools for acquiring specific, job-related skills. This instrumental view risks overlooking the diverse motivations of adult learners, leaving Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) uncertain about the true nature of demand. To address this, our study moves beyond a purely skills-focused lens to explore three interconnected aspects: the core motivations driving learners, how these motivations cluster into distinct profiles, and the design preferences associated with them. This qualitative study explores learners’ perceptions through focus group sessions with 115 adult learners at ten European HEIs. Findings reveal five distinct profiles: the ‘Upskiller’, the ‘Reskiller’, the ‘Career Launcher’, the ‘Compliance-driven Learner’, and the ‘Curiosity-Driven Learner’. The study’s key contributions are threefold: a novel micro-credential adult learner typology that expands the dominant, instrumentalist view of micro-credentials; the identification of differentiated course design preferences across motivational profiles, and the grounding of this typology in Self-Determination and Expectancy-Value theories which provide a robust framework to understand this diversity. These findings provide HEIs with a more refined basis to understand and cater to the complex preferences of adult learners, moving beyond a narrow focus on skill acquisition.

Read the full open-access paper: Tailoring micro-credentials for diverse learners: a qualitative study of motivations and course-design preferences in European higher education