Another turn of the screw... On learning outcomes Are other paths possible?

Abstract

Objective: to clarify the relationship between pedagogy, curriculum and didactics. The paper focuses on the study of the new determinations in the quality education policy, which requires in curricular aspects to define learning outcomes for future graduates of programs and knowledge, decree 1330 of 2019 for qualified registration, and agreement 02 of 2020 for accreditation.

Originality/support: this discussion is relevant and pertinent at the moment for higher education in general and for the communities in Higher Education Institutions (HEI); the commitments derived led us to foresee some purposes, among others, to historically and contextually locate the topic, to make a tour on expressions of the educational quality policy since the 1970s, to link contributions from communities and intellectuals, and to propose paths, views and possibilities.

Method: the work was developed from the understanding of qualitative research, following, on the one hand, documentary research and, on the other hand, the theoretical foundation and the follow-up of contributions.

Strategy/ information gathering: it involved the search, selection, organization and review of the contents of the most relevant documents (books, book chapters, articles) with which the relevant information bank was formed. In the same way, the public policy on quality in higher education was followed up through laws, decrees and resolutions. The contributions found there, as a whole, were interwoven with in-depth interviews, as well as with memories of the work carried out by the authors.

Conclusion: the interpretations and findings invite to connect critical views, to recognize what has been done, to relate lessons from the current pandemic, to the actors of the academic communities to update the formative proposals from their institutional belonging, illuminated by missionary values in the educational projects. Given that developments in science and technology place humanity in an unpredictable future, it is urgent to distance oneself from possible predictions, as the pandemic shows.