Outcomes-based Education System Research Articles

Learning Styles and Development – A Legal Analysis in South Africa

Outcomes Based Education (OBE) forms part of Curriculum 2005 and is aimed at activating the minds of young people in a way that these young people are better able to participate in the economic and social spheres of life. South Africa’s OBE system is intended to ensure that everyone is able to achieve his or her maximum ability and is equipped for lifelong learning. Attempts have been made in this paper to show the shift from traditional outcomes-based education (hereafter OBE), transitional OBE and transformational OBE. The deductive and inductive strategies are noted in this paper and the different learning styles that can be applied in the field of law. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n4p259

Philosophy and Ethics in Western Australian Secondary Schools

The introduction of Philosophy and Ethics to the Western Australian Certificate of Education courses in 2008 brought philosophy into the Western Australian secondary school curriculum for the first time. How philosophy came to be included is part of a larger story about the commitment and perseverance of a relatively small number of Australian educators and their belief in the value of introducing philosophical communities of inquiry into school classrooms through a revised pedagogy which could sit comfortably with an outcomes-based education system.

Mathematical modelling: From school to university

The outcomes based education (OBE) system is characterised by controversy and the 2008 matric results that rendered admission to an unusually large number of students did nothing to silence critics. The first students who completed their full cycle of school education in the OBE system entered universities in 2009 and their preparedness for university mathematics as well as their performance at university level are important as indicaters for estimating the success or otherwise of the OBE system. In a previous study student performance in mathematics admission tests for 2005-2007 was investigated and it was found that students who had had partial exposure to OBE performed worse than had been the case with their predecessors in the categories of modelling and ratio problems. As a result, this study was conducted to investigate how the 2009 intake of students performed in a modelling course at university level. A report is presented which deals with student performance in the course, problems experienced, the effect of remedial intervention on performance and whether students of the OBE system are adequately prepared for mathematical modelling at university level. This study focuses on performance in a first year course in mathematical modelling at the University of Pretoria. The course is problem based and is technology intensive, requiring use of the software package Matlab. For investigative purposes the papers of semester tests 1 and 2 of 2005 were used unchanged for tests in 2009. Students of 2009 did not have access to the 2005 papers and the same lecturer taught students of both groups. The lecturer also noted personal experiences in respect of students and was able to draw reasonable comparisons between the 2009 students and previous groups because of her years of involvement with the course. The entrance requirement of 60% for matric mathematics in 2005 was increased to 70% in 2009. Results indicate that the pass percentage decreased in both semester tests from 2005 to 2009. The percentage of students with less than 40% also increased in both semester tests from 2005 to 2009. A surprising observation was that the percentage of students who excelled increased remarkably from 2005 to 2009 in both semester tests. Extra assistance was requested by students after the first semester test in 2009 and resulted in a week of intervention during which revision and extra problems were attended to. The results of the two semester tests of 2009 did not live up to expectations of the matric results of the group . Despite the exceptional matric results, performance in the modelling course was decidely poorer. Results indicate that most students were not adequately prepared for the course – as could be predicted from the previous study. The 2009 group was characterised by two aspects – excellent matric results on the one hand and full school education within the OBE system on the other. It is difficult to distinguish between the influence of the two aspects. It would be convenient to blame the substantial size of the “under 40” groups in both semester tests of 2009 on the better than average matric marks. Yet the increased admission requirements should have compensated for the high matric marks. If the matric results are considered to be reliable then the possibility cannot be excluded that the OBE system had had an influence on the underpreparedness of underperforming students in the course. By contrast, in the instance of top achievers if these students had been influenced by the OBE system it had a positive rather than a negative effect on their performance. It would appear that OBE may have had a polarising effect between good and poor students. Good students performed exceptionally well and poor students did worse than expected. It would, however, be unfair to summarily reject the OBE system. Personal impressions of the lecturer include that the OBE-generation asks for assistance when they need it, they are willing to try and use their resources to their own advantage.

Are students who have been educated in an outcomes-based approach prepared for university mathematics?

Following the political changes of 1994 in South Africa, the decision was taken to replace the traditional skills-based education system at primary and secondary school level (Grades 1 - 12) with an outcomes-based education system (OBE). The OBE approach, referred to as Curriculum 2005, was introduced into schools in 1998. The implementation of the OBE system did not occur without problems, giving rise to revised initiatives and a fair amount of criticism. The 2009 intake of students at universities is the first group of students that had been subjected to the OBE approach for their entire school career. This is also the first group of students for whom some form of mathematics was compulsory up to Grade 12 level in the form of mathematics or mathematical literacy. These students were characterised by the fact that their mathematics marks for Grade 12 were exceptionally high and that many more students qualified for university entrance. This article reports on the impact of this new education system on the mathematics prepared-ness of students entering university. The study involves an empirical analysis of the students in the first-year mathematics course for engineering students at the University of Pretoria as well as an analysis of a questionnaire completed by experienced lecturers at this university. The question addressed in this article is how the 2009 intake of students cope with mathematics at university level with regard to Performance General attributes Mathematical attributes Content-related attributesResults indicate a decrease in mathematics performance of these students at university level and that the inflated matric marks result in unjustified expectations. However, it is not unusual for marks to decrease from school to university and there is still too little evidence for serious concern. The study also indicates that these students seem to be better equipped with regard to personal attributes such as self-confidence and the will to work. However, in many instances, their general mathematical attributes such as algebraic manipulation skills and their general mastery of mathematical writing are worse than those of students in the past. There are also areas where their content knowledge is either lacking or unexpectedly shallow. It therefore appears that these students have improved personal attributes but not necessarily the knowledge and mathematical skills to back them up. Some recommendations are made with regard to handling the situation. It is clear that the new school system necessitates changes at school level with a view to university level in order to ensure a transition that is surmountable.

The impact of the transition to outcomes-based teaching on university preparedness in mathematics in South Africa

Following the political changes of 1994 in South Africa, the decision was taken to replace the traditional skills-based education system at primary and secondary school level (Grades 1–12) with an outcomes-based education system (OBE). The implementation of the OBE system did not come without problems, giving rise to revised initiatives. The OBE approach, referred to as Curriculum 2005, was introduced into schools in 1998, for all learners in Grades 1–6 and progressively phased in after that. In 2002, the OBE system was put on hold for the two upper grades of these learners. Learners in these two grades reverted back to skills-based learning for their last three years of schooling, i.e. in Grades 10 – 12. The most senior of these learners that had been subjected to four years of OBE and another three years of the old system finished their schooling in 2005 and 2006 and entered university in 2006 and 2007. These groups are of interest. Students ahead of them had their full schooling in the old system and students two years younger were only subjected to OBE. These students are the “group in the middle”. This paper reports on what the impact is of the growing pains of such a new, inadequately planned education system on the mathematics preparedness of students entering university. This report will be extended in 2009 when the learners that have been fully subjected to the OBE system enter university.

'n Model vir kurrikulumontwerp van uitkomste-gebaseerde leerprogramme vir onderwysersopleiding in Suid-Afrika

A new approach to teacher training is necessary to empower teachers to teach within the new outcomes-based education system. Because the new system implies a new curriculum for teacher training, there is a need for research on how providers will have to adapt their training approach and curriculum to meet the challenges of outcomes-based education. It also implies that a model for outcomes-based curriculum design is needed. To develop a model for curriculum design of outcomes-based learning programmes, requirements for the training of teachers in the context of outcomes-based education and Curriculum 2005 were identified, as were requirements for outcomes-based curriculum design. These were used as guidelines for the development of the proposed model for curriculum design of outcomes-based learning programmes.

Equating Examinations as a Prerequisite for Ensuring Standards in Centralised Senior Certificate (Matric) Examinations in South Africa

This article reviews the practices of standard setting and statistical moderation of Senior Certificate (Matric) results. After introducing important issues pertaining to standard setting across the globe, the paper reviews the basis for standard setting and statistical moderation currently practiced in South Africa. The impact and effect of these practices are evident in the various tables of statistical data, presented as addenda, to the article. The appeal to history in the discussion is intended to encourage the reader to appreciate the difficulties relating to standard setting and moderation of examination and assessment results, as well as the evolution of these practices. The key argument presented is that, in spite of public debate, and pending the full implementation of the new Outcomes Based Education System, with its envisaged progressive moderation processes, the current practices is probably the best way to ensure fairness, objectivity and equal opportunity to access into tertiary institutions.

Onderwysersopleiding vir uitkomste-gebaseerde onderrig - 'n wêreldperspektief

Teacher training for outcomes-based education - a world perspective. The outcomes-based education systems of a number of countries, namely, United States of America, England, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, are discussed. The focus is on higher education and more specifically on teacher training in tertiary institutions in these countries. The object was to determine to what extent outcomes-based education is used at tertiary level and if teachers are trained to be able to teach in an outcomes-based education system. The situation regarding outcomes-based education in these countries is compared to the South African situation. South African Journal of Education Vol.23(3) 2003: 218-224

Matching computer competencies with education competencies in preservice teacher training

After a new democracy was established in South Africa in 1994, new study programmes were designed and developed throughout the education and training system as part of a democratisation process. These changes necessitated a new approach to training preservice teachers in an outcomes-based education system. The philosophy and practices of the preceding era were no longer applicable to the newly defined purposes and envisaged outcomes of the new education model. The basic idea for the construction of an integrated training approach to computer literacy and education competencies is to address computer competencies and contextual competencies simultaneously in developing the critical outcomes required for occupation-related marketable skills. This article aims to describe an explorative impact evaluation of a new format for training preservice teachers. The perceptions and experiences of the learners were considered to establish how their diverse educational needs could be accommodated in an integrated model for teaching computer and education competencies. South African Journal of Higher Education Vol.16(3) 2002: 109-126

A discussion on key issues in the implementation of the Arts and Culture Programme in schools in South Africa

The Education Department of South Africa embarked on an Outcome-based Education Policy in 1998, and an education strategy was formed to move away from the apartheid guided system. Not all the educators experienced the Outcomes-based Education system (OBE) positively.