Outcome-Based Education in Chinese Higher Education: Reform Translation, Implementation Tensions and International Comparisons

Abstract

Purpose - Outcome-Based Education (OBE) has become a major reform language in Chinese higher education, especially in programme accreditation, undergraduate teaching review, applied undergraduate transformation and internal quality assurance. This article examines how OBE has been translated within China’s policy-steered higher education system and compares that trajectory with major international outcome-oriented frameworks.

Design/methodology/approach - The study adopts comparative policy analysis and integrative literature synthesis. A purposive analytical corpus of 46 core sources was assembled from peer-reviewed literature, publisher databases, Google Scholar, ERIC and official accreditation or quality-assurance websites. The synthesis prioritises sources published between 2020 and 2026, while retaining foundational works on OBE, constructive alignment, feedback, assessment validity and comparative policy translation. The analysis is organised around governance driver, outcome architecture, curriculum alignment, assessment evidence, stakeholder participation, continuous improvement and future-readiness.

Findings - The analysis identifies Chinese OBE reform as a policy-steered translation process moving through three overlapping stages: formal alignment, evidence construction and learning enhancement. Chinese universities have advanced most visibly in formal alignment through programme outcomes, curriculum maps and accreditation documentation. Evidence construction is developing through attainment calculation, rubrics, capstones, portfolios and digital platforms, but remains vulnerable where assessment validity, student agency, disciplinary translation and responsible data governance are weak. Learning enhancement is therefore the decisive frontier of next-generation OBE reform in China.

Originality/value - The article develops a compliance-to-enhancement model of Chinese OBE reform and positions China against accreditation-led, qualification-framework-led and quality-enhancement-led models of outcome-oriented reform. It contributes to comparative higher education research by showing that large-scale policy mobilisation can accelerate OBE diffusion, but educationally valid improvement depends on assessment evidence, disciplinary ownership, student participation and teacher-led curriculum judgement.