Tackling teacher workforce shortages and skills gaps through micro-credentials
In an effort retain more teachers in the workforce and upskill teachers in areas of greatest need, in 2022 the Australian Government allocated funding for a series of online micro-credentials to support teacher professional development.
The University of Adelaide won the $3.7 million (GST exclusive), three-year contract to develop and deliver the micro-credentials, named the ‘Micro-credentials for Classroom Confidence’, on the topics of Classroom Management, Explicit Teaching, and Teaching Phonics.
The first micro-credential on Classroom Management opened for enrolment in July 2024, and the second and third micro-credentials opened for enrolment in November 2024 and January 2025 respectively.
The micro-credentials are offered at no cost to Australian-based school teachers, school leaders, other education professionals within the school setting and pre-service teachers, and count towards teachers’ annual professional development requirements.
Assistant Minister for Education, Senator the Hon Anthony Chisholm, with University of Adelaide staff including Associate Professor Joanna Anderson, Professor John Williams, Professor Jennie Shaw, Dr Shauna Hockley, Dr Nina James, Professor Susan James Relly and Dr Daria Tikhonova.
The content includes practitioner videos, interactive activities, readings, and practical strategies, all complemented by opportunities for self-reflection and online community discussions.
The micro-credentials are also aligned with postgraduate programs at AQF8 level and offer an optional credit pathway to the Master of Education at the University of Adelaide through completion of the free Classroom Confidence Assessment Credential.
To bring the online micro-credentials to-market, a cross-disciplinary project team from across the University was formed, comprising Professional and Continuing Education, the School of Education, the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, The Computer Science Education Research Group and Learning Enhancement and Innovation.
The University’s resourcing capability, combining highly skilled and experienced subject matter experts, content writers, learning designers, digital education developers, user testers, video production and marketing specialists, project coordinators and administrators were key success factors in the tender submission.
In addition to the Commonwealth Government, the project team consulted with all state and territory education departments in the development of the micro-credentials. A four-round review process of each micro-credential was developed to ensure alignment with the priorities and terminology of each jurisdiction, and the needs of its educators.
The micro-credentials, which are practical in nature and directly relevant to classroom practice, have enabled schools across the country to build critical capability to address pressing pedagogical and student management issues.
Hear from educators Isabella and Evan about their experience studying the Classroom Management Micro-credential.
As of early February 2025, there have been:
- 4,740 registrations of interest for the micro-credentials
- 3,662 enrolments:
- 2,060 into Classroom Management
- 1,315 into Explicit Teaching
- 287 into Teaching Phonics
- 1,202 digital badges issued for module and full micro-credential completions.
In addition, the ‘Micro-credentials for Classroom Confidence’ project has also been recognised for its impact, being shortlisted for the Lifelong Learning Award at the 2024 QS Reimagine Education Awards.
The three micro-credentials are being offered at no charge to teachers until June 2026. Once the contracted period with the Australian Government ends, the University of Adelaide will continue to offer the micro-credentials to teachers and schools online.