The Central Role of Learning Outcomes in the Completion of the European Higher Education Area 2013–2020

This chapter is a fully revised and updated version of the original 2006 article 'An introduction to learning outcomes'. It reviews the nature and functions of learning outcomes in the context of the Bologna educational reforms. It explores the current situation and ongoing challenges associated with their successful implementation 2013–2020. Section 1 explains what they are and where they originate. Section 2 explores their practical application and multiple functions, and provides a schematic summary. Section 3 places them in the context of current pedagogical reform and highlights their relationship to curriculum development – teaching, learning and assessment. Section 4 establishes their centrality to the Bologna process and the successful completion of the European Higher Education Area. Finally, the concluding section 5 points to some important challenges associated with their application in the immediate future.