Under the transformational approach, educators work with children until they master the expected outcomes, and schools provide the opportunity to learn.
The transformational view contrasts with two other views on outcomes. Spady (1994) calls them the traditional and transitional.
The traditional approach makes outcomes narrow and content specific. Rather than starting with a clear understanding of the life situations students will face, outcomes derive from existing curricula.
Transitional OBA lies between the two, beginning with the general question of what the students must be like in order to be successful after graduation. The answers in transitional OBA, however, are not as specific as answers in transformational OBA.
At Lingnan: transitional, perceived as traditional?
(Spady, W. (1994) Outcomes-Based Education: Critical issues and answers. Arlington, VA: American Board of School Administrators.)
