Lost in translation: the meaning of learning outcomes across national and institutional policy contexts

AbstractStudent-centred learning has gradually come to the foreground of the Bologna Process. In parallel, learning outcomes have been advocated as key degree descriptors, illustrative of student-centred approaches. This paper examines learning outcomes in their diverse understandings and enactment in three European countries – England, Portugal and Denmark – further to Bologna policy developments. Resorting to a conceptualisation of the intersection between global and local policy fields and to policy theories highlighting the interpretative nature of policy processes, the implementation of learning outcomes is analysed from the perspective of different policy fields (European, national and institutional). Variation in understandings and usage has been observed especially between the institutional fields in the three national contexts, as well as between academic practice and student experience. A discrepancy has also emerged between the policy discourse which highlights students' centrality in a learning-outcomes-based approach and the limited relevance of learning outcomes to students.Keywords: learning outcomesstudent-centred learningBologna Processpolicy implementationacademic practicestudent experience NotesThe UK, rather than England, will be referred to when aspects under discussion do not apply exclusively to England.The master in Scotland is not deemed contentious given the Scottish 4+1 bachelor-master structure as opposed to 3+1 in England (Johnson and Wolf 2008). However, Scottish students leave secondary education and therefore enrol into higher education a year earlier than in England, which leads to the longer duration of the undergraduate degrees.