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The 'New Paradigm' of Outcomes-Based Education in Perspective SPT Malan

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The 'New Paradigm' of Outcomes-Based Education in Perspective SPT Malan ISSN 0378-5254 Tydskrif vir Gesinsekologie en Verbruikerswetenskappe, Vol 28, 2000 The 'new paradigm' of outcomes-based education in perspective SPT Malan OPSOMMING INTRODUCTION Uitkomsgebaseerde onderwys (UGO) word deur Education is aimed at creating teaching and learning sommige as 'n paradigmaskuif in die onderwys ge- environments that would bring about desired changes propageer. Die doel van die artikel is om hierdie in learners, whether to be more knowledgeable, better aanspraak toe te lig teen die agtergrond van veral skilled or to influence their attitudes and values pos i- vier onderrig- en leerbenaderings, naamlik doelwit- tively. The essence of teaching and learning is to gerigte onderrig, bevoegdheidsgebaseerde leer, be- plan teaching events (contents, strategies, etc) and to meesteringsleer, en kriteriumgerigte onderrig en as- ascertain to what extent learners have acquired the sessering. intended competences. Teen die agtergrond van die voorgemelde benade- Uncertainty about the desired learning outcomes and rings word getoon dat UGO nie 'n paradigmaskuif failure to assess outcomes properly could end in a meebring nie. UGO kan ten beste beskryf word as 'n situation where learners only attained pseudo- eklektiese onderwysfilosofie wat op die beste ele- knowledge, pseudo-skills, pseudo-attitudes and mente in hierdie onderwysbenaderings berus. Oor- pseudo-values. On completion of their studies these eenkomstig die behoeftes en eise wat aan 'n nuwe learners are awarded a certificate inherently implying demokratiese Suid-Afrika gestel word, is die elemen- that they have attained certain competences whereas te egter in 'n visioenêre raamwerk saamgevoeg om in fact they have not. Disenchantment with education aan die land se mensekragbehoeftes en werkvereis - in this regard is obvious - but not a new phenomenon. tes te voldoen. Dissatisfaction with education policies and practices Daar is ook voordele aan UGO verbonde. Die be- have time and again led to initiatives to adjust these langrikste hiervan is die nasionale fokus op onder- practices and systems to meet the needs of learners wys as 'n middel tot 'n doel en nie 'n doel op sigself at the time. However, not all of these turned out to be nie. ‘n Behebtheid met toetse en eksamens word to their advantage, which gave rise to revised initia- versag met behulp van deurlopende assessering, en tives. die resultate van sodanige assessering word in ‘n re- mediërende hoedanigheid aangewend. Voorberei- Outcomes -based education [OBE] is currently fa- ding vir lewenslange leer word op dié wyse 'n hoë voured internationally to promote educational renewal prioriteit. and has been implemented in countries such as Can- ada, the United States and New Zealand. However, it Onderwyspraktisyns, leerders en ouers sal elkeen has already elicited harsh criticism from opponents of hul bepaalde rol moet speel om te verseker dat UGO the movement (Claassen, 1998; HTTP, 1994). South 'n sukses is. Dit verg uiteraard harde werk en toewy- Africa is introducing its own version of OBE as the ding van diegene wat met onderwys en opleiding ge- basis of Curriculum 2005 (Claassen, 1998; Malan, moeid is. Praktisyns moet daarop ingestel wees om 1997:73). And, as elsewhere in the world, reactions onderrig- en leersituasies vaardig te beplan en te be- vary between commendation by its proponents and stuur sodat die beoogde leeruitkomste ten beste re- denouncement by its critics. aliseer. Vaardigheidsgebaseerde assessering in ou- tentieke omstandighede moet die basis vir betrouba- Curriculum compilers in South Africa hail OBE as a re inligting van hoogstaande gehalte vorm. major paradigm shift in education (Reddy, 1995:13; Department of Education, 1997b; Arjun, 1998). But Die werklike waarde van UGO sal eers beoordeel how original is the OBE dispensation, and does it ac- kan word wanneer die eerste geslag leerders wat tually represent a paradigm shift? This article ad- aan die UGO-stelsel blootgestel was die arbeids- dresses these issues by tracing the roots of OBE and mark betree of vir hoëronderwysopleiding aanmeld. by putting outcomes -based education into perspec- tive. — Prof SPT Malan WHAT IS OUTCOMES-BAS ED EDUCATION? Department of Teaching and Training Studies Faculty of Education William Spady is regarded as OBE's leading advocate University of Pretoria and a few points he makes would suffice. 22 The 'new paradigm' of outcomes-based education in perspective ISSN 0378-5254 Journal of Family Ecology and Consumer Sciences, Vol 28, 2000 Spady (1994:1) defines OBE as a … comprehensive losophy for curriculum design is firmly rooted in both approach to organizing and operating an education Tyler's and Wheeler’s models. system that is focused on and defined by the success- ful demonstrations of learning sought from each stu- During the fifties the work of Bloom (1956) and his co- dent. Outcomes are … clear learning results that we workers on developing taxonomies for educational want students to demonstrate at the end of significant objectives became important. These benchmarks learning experiences … and … are actions and per- were used in the formulation of objectives and the de- formances that embody and reflect learner compe- velopment of criteria to establish whether learners tence in using content, information, ideas, and tools have actually attained acceptable standards com- successfully (Spady, 1994:2). Regarding the OBE pared to the desired learning outcomes. Bloom's paradigm, Spady (1994:8) states: … WHAT and (1956) work, particularly in the cognitive domain, re- WHETHER students learn successfully is more impor- mains invaluable for OBE assessment. tant than WHEN and HOW they learn something. After Bloom came Mager whose work was first pub- Ten key components underlie what is termed the out- lished in 1962. It … captured the imagination of many comes -based information age paradigm (Spady, teachers and helped spark off a wave of enthusiasm 1994:36-40). At issue here is whether it is in fact a (and controversy) over objectives (McAvoy, 1985:29). new education paradigm. Guidelines (HTTP, 1999) on how to write learning out- comes in OBE closely resemble Mager's (1984:23- 104) guidelines in terms of expected performance, the THE ROOTS OF OBE conditions under which it is attained, and the stan- dards for assessing quality. Spady (1994:4) concedes that the world is filled with examples of outcomes -based models, and even that The competency-based movement outcomes -based systems go back at least 500 years to the craft guilds of the Middle Ages. The concept of Competency-based education was introduced in outcomes -based models and systems is therefore not America towards the end of the 1960s in reaction to new. concerns that students are not taught the skills they require in life after school. The same concern has Analysis of educational reform movements in the past been expressed about education in South Africa. reveals prominent features of OBE embedded in the educational approaches described below. Competency-based education is based on six critical components (Van der Horst & McDonald 1997:10-11): The educational objectives movement ¨ Explicit learning outcomes with respect to the re- quired skills and concomitant proficiency Incongruity between what is being taught and what is (standards for assessment) being learned led to the setting of objectives for teach- ¨ A flexible time frame to master these skills ers and learners. McAvoy (1985:28) traced the docu- ¨ A variety of instructional activities to facilitate mented use of objectives in education back as far as learning 1860 when Spencer in Britain formulated objectives ¨ Criterion-referenced testing of the required out- according to a classification of human activities. In comes 1924 Herbart in Germany stressed the importance of ¨ Certification based on demonstrated learning out- lesson planning and stating objectives to guide teach- comes ing activities. In 1949 Tyler gave further impetus to ¨ Adaptable programmes to ensure optimum learner the objectives-oriented movement by stressing the guidance importance of objectives in curriculum design and teaching practices. He listed four questions as the All six components are prominent in the OBE ap- basis for his means -end or product-oriented rationale proach. Competency-based education also supports for curriculum design (Tyler, in Arjun, 1998:24): the notion that the learner is accountable for his or her ¨ What educational objectives should the school aim own achievements. This is another major tenet under- to achieve? pinning OBE. ¨ How does one select learning experiences that are likely to be useful in attaining these objec- The mastery learning movement tives? ¨ How should learning experiences be organised for Mastery learning was initially introduced to provide effective instruction? intervention programmes for learners with mild dis- ¨ How would the effectiveness of learning experi- abilities and those who were at risk in traditional edu- ences be evaluated? cational settings (Guskey et al, 1995). The authors state that research has confirmed the applicability and Tyler's rationale has been used extensively by cur- value of mastery learning in education to provide riculum practitioners and formed the basis of learners at all levels with similar, individualised assis- Wheeler's well-known model of curriculum design tance. With sufficient opportunities and supported by which served as the main curriculum design model for an appropriate learning environment, materials and several decades (Arjun,
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