This paper investigates the potential for digital badges to support youth agency and identity in an after-school science program serving diverse high school students. We conducted contextual interviews with 36 students aged 14–19 participating in the program, inviting them to interact with a badge system prototype designed to help them track their progress through the program. Students were optimistic about the potential for badges to provide visible learning pathways, connect learning across contexts, and establish the credibility of the skills they acquired in the program. They also raised several challenges associated with sharing their badges with external audiences, such as the challenge of demonstrating the value of a badge and privacy concerns. This paper demonstrates how the design of a digital badge platform can successfully embody supports not only for student agency and identity in science learning, but also greater equity in and access to future learning and career opportunities.
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