Editing Outcome-based education (section)

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{short description|Educational system based on the desired goals}}
{{distinguish|Evidence-based education}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
[[File:Class in Sinenjongo High School, Joe Slovo Park, Cape Town, South Africa-3341.jpg|thumb|A High School class in Cape Town, South Africa]]

'''Outcome-based education''' or '''outcomes-based education''' ('''OBE''') is an [[educational theory]] that bases each part of an [[educational system]] around goals (outcomes). By the end of the educational experience, each student should have achieved the goal. There is no single specified style of teaching or assessment in OBE; instead, classes, opportunities, and assessments should all help students achieve the specified outcomes.<ref name=Spady>{{cite book|last1=Spady|first1=William|title=Outcome-Based Education: Critical Issues and Answers|date=1994|publisher=American Association of School Administrators|location=Arlington Virginia|isbn=0876521839|url=http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED380910.pdf|access-date=31 October 2014}}</ref> The role of the faculty adapts into instructor, trainer, facilitator, and/or mentor based on the outcomes targeted.

Outcome-based methods have been adopted in education systems around the world, at multiple levels. 
Australia and South Africa adopted OBE policies from the 1990s to the mid 2000s, but were abandoned in the face of substantial community opposition.<ref name=Donnelly /><ref name=Allais /> The United States has had an OBE program in place since 1994 that has been adapted over the years.<ref name=Austin /><ref name=USDE /> In 2005, Hong Kong adopted an outcome-based approach for its universities.<ref name=Kennedy /> Malaysia implemented OBE in all of their public schools systems in 2008.<ref name=Mohayidin /> The European Union has proposed an education shift to focus on outcomes, across the EU.<ref name="EUComm_pressrelease_dec2012" /> In an international effort to accept OBE, The [[Washington Accord (credentials)|Washington Accord]] was created in 1989; it is an agreement to accept undergraduate engineering degrees that were obtained using OBE methods.<ref name=Signatories>{{cite web|title=Washington Accord|url=http://www.washingtonaccord.org/Washington-Accord/signatories.cfm|publisher=International Engineering Alliance|access-date=2 February 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126021804/http://www.washingtonaccord.org/Washington-Accord/signatories.cfm|archive-date=26 January 2012}}</ref>