Outcomes-Focused Learning Environments: Determinants and Effects

In order to make education more inclusive, outcomes-focused education is currently being adopted by schools and post-school education and training systems in numerous countries around the world. Outcomes-focused education involves a major shift from what teachers do to an ‘outcomes focus’ on what students achieve and an emphasis on catering for students’ individual differences in backgrounds, interests and learning styles. This book focuses on the successes and challenges of an innovative new post-compulsory secondary school in creating an outcomes-focused curriculum. Major research aims included evaluating the effectiveness of this school’s educational programs in promoting outcomes-focused learning environments, and investigating some of the determinants and effects of outcomes-focused learning environments. Practically, this book suggests implications for educational systems about how effective outcomes-focused learning environments can be created to maximise educational outcomes for each individual student. Methodologically, the book illustrates the productive combination of quantitative and qualitative data-collection methods in learning environments research. Researchers and practitioners around the world are likely to make use of the widely-applicable Technology-Rich Outcomes-Focused Learning Environment Inventory (TROFLEI), whose development and validation are reported in detail in this book.