Badges - Good, Bad and Ugly
A reflection on the value of badges.
Recently Girl Guiding UK reported launching 72 new special interest badges: see: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9dgw7lgpdvo
This along with CIPD recently issuing my digital Chartered Fellow Badge; which many peers have posted on LinkedIn, made me reflect on badges.
Love them or loathe them?
So, I spent some time exploring the evidence-base for badge value, which I’m pleased to share – and it’s VERY mixed.
THE GOOD: BENEFITS
The evidence shows some positives on badges.
They can boost motivation, goal setting and engagement [1] [2] [3] [4].
They spotlight skills that traditional qualifications miss [5] [6] [7] [4] [8] [9].
They can support and value self-directed, personalised learning [5] [6] [8] [10].
And they can help employers verify skills for hiring [5] [11] [12].
THE BAD: LIMITATIONS
However, badging has become a jungle.
It’s reported in 2023 more than half a million digital badges were created worldwide by 26,000+ organisations with no common framework [13].
With such variability in badge schemes and assessments there is widespread uncertainty on their value [6] [10] [14] and without evidence, their impact is degraded [5] [11].
As a result, learner engagement is often low [15].
THE UGLY: RISKS
The explosion and poor communication about badges has overwhelmed employers and learners with the wheat getting lost in the chaff [11] [14].
And without alignment to recognised industry standards can badges deliver real value? [6] [10] [14].
Launching badge schemes is challenging. There’s the sobering case study of the Advanced Practice Digital Badge in Nursing which hit the rocks for lacking support and being complex and overly bureaucratic [16].
For me the jury on badges remains out; so, we must enter the badge zone with a dose of realism!
If we chose to, here are some key take aways from the evidence:
- Start with purpose: Be crystal clear why the badge matters.
- Build employer trust: Involve stakeholders and link to valued skills.
- Design for credibility: Align with workplace needs and make them look fab!
- Be rigorous and objective: Use robust, transparent assessments.
- Less is more: Create a tight badge structure to avoid badge fatigue.
- Track use and perception: It’s unlikely the first set are the best ones!
- Evaluate and adapt: Treat badges as a living, evolving ecosystem.
Badges are meaningless unless we stop chasing shiny stickers and start demanding real value.
On badges, are we being driven by decoration or transformation?
References
[1] Moore, R., Lee, S., Pate, A., & Wilson, A. (2025). Systematic review of digital microcredentials: trends in assessment and delivery. Distance Education, 46, 8 – 35. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2024.2441263
[2] Raj, B., & Divya, C. (2023). Use of Badges as Achievements to Enhance Online Learning. Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences. https://doi.org/10.4103/amhs.amhs_114_23
[3] Iwata, J., Wang, S., & Clayton, J. (2019). Students’ perceptions about the use of digital badges in an online English terminology course: a three-year study. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2019.38.1009
[4] Miletic, M., Svihla, V., Chi, E., Gomez, J., Datye, A., Kang, P., Chen, Y., & Han, S. (2024). The design of digital badges to certify professional skills in engineering. 2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2-370.620-35963
[5] Alenezi, M., Akour, M., & Alfawzan, L. (2024). Evolving Microcredential Strategies for Enhancing Employability: Employer and Student Perspectives. Education Sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14121307
[6] West, R., Newby, T., Cheng, Z., Erickson, A., & Clements, K. (2020). Acknowledging All Learning: Alternative, Micro, and Open Credentials. , 593-613. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36119-8_27
[7] Braxton, S. (2023). Competency frameworks, alternative credentials and the evolving relationship of higher education and employers in recognising skills and achievements. The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijilt-10-2022-0206
[8] Ponte, F., & Saray, V. (2022). The evolution of a micro-credential. ASCILITE Publications. https://doi.org/10.14742/apubs.2019.328
[9] Fosmire, M., Van Epps, A., & Johnson, N. (2015). Badging Your Way to Information Literacy. https://doi.org/10.18260/p.23614
[10] Arenas, M., & Zarka, D. (2025). Good practices and recommendations to Enhancing Education with Gamified Open Badges. Opus et Educatio. https://doi.org/10.3311/ope.40558
[11] Randall, D., & West, R. (2020). Who cares about open badges? An examination of principals’ perceptions of the usefulness of teacher open badges in the United States. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 37, 65 – 83. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2020.1752166
[12] Graham, L., Goulding, H., Chorney, D., & Coffey, S. (2021). Digital Microcertification: An Interprofessional Simulation Experience for Undergraduate Nursing and Medical Laboratory Students. Nursing Education Perspectives, 44, 66 – 68. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000926
[14] Cumberland, D., Deckard, T., Kahle-Piasecki, L., Kerrick, S., & Ellinger, A. (2023). Making sense of the digital badging landscape in education and workplace settings: a scoping review of the empirical literature. European Journal of Training and Development. https://doi.org/10.1108/ejtd-06-2022-0067
[15] Purmensky, K., Xiong, Y., Nutta, J., Mihai, F., & Mendez, L. (2020). Microcredentialing of English Learner Teaching Skills: An Exploratory Study of Digital Badges as an Assessment Tool. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education Journal, 20, 199-226.
[16] https://practicenurse.co.uk/en-GB/news/digital-badge-scheme-risks-losing-advanced-practitioners
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