The validity of digital badges as a currency for soft skill attainment.

Abstract

The alignment of soft skills with hard skills in education has become an agenda of significant importance for developing student competencies critical for success in today’s constantly evolving society. The successful development of soft skills in education requires explicit teaching and strategic assessment. Digital badges afford educators a currency which can then be associated with their attainment. The value of a digital badge in this context is therefore directly linked with the validity of its awarding criteria and with the correlating evidence. This paper describes an investigation into the development and assessment of soft skills within postprimary education. This research is part of a three year longitudinal project funded by the European Commission which is exploring the accreditation of soft skills through the medium of digital badges.