Introduction to Outcome-Based Education

The origin of Outcome-Based Education can be traced from the early experiments of Behaviourists. Skinners (1938) experiments brought out the concepts of instructional objectives and programmed instruction which became the foundation of objective based instruction. Ralph W Tyler provided a model for curriculum development which emphased the importance of specifying instructional objectives in curriculum development and transaction. Based on Tyler's model, Furst (1958) developed a paradigm of interrelationship between objectives, learning experiences and evaluation. The development of Taxonomies of Educational Objectives in the 1950s and 1960s is considered as the landmark in the history of evolution of OBE. William Spady, an American educator and educational administrator is pioneered the development of OBE in the current form. Gardner's (1983) theory of multiple intelligence also influenced the designing of learning outcomes considering multiple abilities of the learners. The shift in pedagogic research in 1990s witnessed the change from instructions objectives to learning outcomes and development of Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (RBT) to match the changing scenario of learner centric and process based education. Later, curriculum frameworks for school education and higher education, and multilateral treaty like Washington accord highlighted the necessity of attainment of minimum level of competence for all learners at the time of exiting an educational programme.