Outcome-Based Education (OBE) in Accounting in Sri Lanka: Insights for Teacher Education

Abstract

Owing to the dramatic changes in the business environment in the twenty-first century, the demands for skills and the nature of teaching, learning, and assessment in every discipline are evolving. This is particularly important in the management discipline which faces growing criticism globally for not being able to produce graduates who meet the expectations of the business world. Although this is the general situation in many developing countries including Sri Lanka, some Sri Lankan academic accounting degree programs stand as an exemption by adopting novel education models such as outcome-based education (OBE). These models not only provide insights into management education in general but also set directions for teacher-education practices in Sri Lanka, where there are many issues pertaining to the quality of education. This chapter thus aims to examine how the successful university level accounting education could guide teacher education in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, it discusses the lessons for teacher education (for teacher-educators and student teachers) based on a case study concerned with the adoption of OBE in an accounting degree program of a public university in Sri Lanka. This chapter provides an overview of the school-level teacher-education system in Sri Lanka while describing OBE in Management and Accounting education including the OBE approach of the selected case study accounting degree program. It also covers the lessons for teacher-educators that can be learnt from the successful adoption and implementation of the OBE approach of this degree program while discussing challenges and the way forward.