Assessing the Effectiveness of Learning Outcomes: In Achieving Quality Education at Higher Learning Institutions in Bahrain

1. Introduction

Enhancing education quality and quality assurance (QA) has emerged as the 21st-century higher education (HE) reform's most defining concern. Assessments and student learning outcomes (SLOs) provide the clearest indication of the quality of HE. It is a crucial component and the starting point for educational evaluation, which is essential for keeping track of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Program accreditation and the mutual recognition of credentials depend heavily on program learning outcomes (PLOs) and the assessments of those PLOs. The Kingdom of Bahrain's National Qualifications Framework (NQF) evaluates whether the learning outcomes (LOs) of each unit that makes up a qualification are consistent with the PLOs. PLO design entails a thorough assessment of program objectives, labor market demands, and stakeholder perceptions. The NQF evaluates whether stakeholders can easily understand the learning outcomes and how higher education institutions are evaluating them. Curriculum design and content enable students to achieve the PLOs. LOs are described as “what a student will be able to do or demonstrate after a certain sequence of learning” or after a topic by Popenici & Millar (2015). It's crucial to consider the learning objectives, assessments, and teaching and learning activities when creating a learning experience, course, or program (Biggs & Tang, 2011; Maki, 2010). This is known as aligning the three components.

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the value of Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) and how they relate to the evaluation process in accomplishing program objectives. The Bahrain National Qualification Framework (BNQF) is managed and maintained by the Bahrain Education & Training Authority (BQA). All qualification design activities are centered on learning or performance outcomes. Learning outcomes have various benefits, especially from the standpoint of quality assurance, they improve transparency and comparability within and between qualifications and serve as benchmarks for evaluation. Additionally, learning outcomes help instructors, trainers, and other educators decide on the best way to present a lesson for a given unit or qualification as well as the best way to judge students' progress. Outcomes can be used to describe a process and its outcomes, Harden RM, Crosby JR, and Davis MH (1999).

Program learning outcomes (PLOs) are succinct, straightforward statements that outline how students may show that they understand the objectives of the program (Allen, M., 2008). The outcomes-based approach to education is growing in acceptance on a global scale, according to Gosling and Moon (2001).