The 'new paradigm' of outcomes-based education in perspective

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Education is aimed at creating teaching and learning environments that would bring about desired changes in learners, whether to be more knowledgeable, better skilled or to influence their attitudes and values pos i- tively. The essence of teaching and learning is to plan teaching events (contents, strategies, etc) and to ascertain to what extent learners have acquired the intended competences. Uncertainty about the desired learning outcomes and failure to assess outcomes properly could end in a situation where learners only attained pseudo- knowledge, pseudo-skills, pseudo-attitudes and pseudo-values. On completion of their studies these learners are awarded a certificate inherently implying that they have attained certain competences whereas in fact they have not. Disenchantment with education in this regard is obvious - but not a new phenomenon. Dissatisfaction with education policies and practices have time and again led to initiatives to adjust these practices and systems to meet the needs of learners at the time. However, not all of these turned out to be to their advantage, which gave rise to revised initia- tives. Outcomes-based education [OBE] is currently fa- voured internationally to promote educational renewal and has been implemented in countries such as Can- ada, the United States and New Zealand. However, it has already elicited harsh criticism from opponents of the movement (Claassen, 1998; HTTP, 1994). South Africa is introducing its own version of OBE as the basis of Curriculum 2005 (Claassen, 1998; Malan, 1997:73). And, as elsewhere in the world, reactions vary between commendation by its proponents and denouncement by its critics. Curriculum compilers in South Africa hail OBE as a major paradigm shift in education (Reddy, 1995:13; Department of Education, 1997b; Arjun, 1998). But how original is the OBE dispensation, and does it ac- tually represent a paradigm shift? This article ad- dresses these issues by tracing the roots of OBE and by putting outcomes-based education into perspec- tive. —