This paper aims to explain the distinction between educational standards and learning outcomes and to indicate the problems that potentially arise when a learning outcomes approach is applied to a qualification meta‐framework like the European Qualification Framework, or indeed to national qualification frameworks.
The methods used are documentary, political and conceptual analysis, with some reference to empirical work carried out in relation to other projects.
It is found that there are substantial differences between learning outcomes and standards with large educational and political implications. Furthermore, the “pure” form of learning outcomes approach contains a design flaw, which makes its coherent implementation problematic.
The stimulation of further research on learning outcomes based approaches to qualifications and the problems that arise in their implementation.
The EU needs to think carefully about the fitness for purpose of the current descriptors for EQF and whether or not it is desirable to move away from a pure outcome‐based approach to qualification frameworks and meta‐frameworks.
As far as the authors are aware, this is the first paper to draw attention to this distinction.
