Bridging the Pedagogical-Governance Divide: A Conceptual Framework for Outcome-Based Education Reform in General Education at Private Universities in China

Abstract

Outcome-Based Education (OBE) has become an important framework for curriculum reform and quality assurance in Chinese higher education. However, its application to general education faces persistent challenges because complex learning outcomes are difficult to assess and classroom practice is not always aligned with institutional quality governance. Drawing on constructive alignment, institutional logics and recent research on higher education quality assurance, this conceptual paper develops an Integrated Pedagogical–Governance Coupling Framework for OBE reform in general education. The framework conceptualises three interrelated forms of decoupling: disconnection among learning outcomes, teaching activities and assessment; misalignment between lecturers’ pedagogical priorities and institutional governance requirements; and separation between assessment evidence and improvement decisions. In response, it positions meaningful student learning as a shared anchor and connects classroom implementation, institutional governance support and bidirectional collaborative feedback through four cyclical elements: interpretable learning outcomes, authentic assessment evidence, governance support and evidence-informed adjustment. Two actual general education courses from the first author’s institution are used as illustrative examples of how the framework may inform course design. The paper argues that OBE reform should extend beyond individual courses towards an institutional ecology that links pedagogical judgement, organisational capacity and continuous improvement, enabling general education to move from formal outcome reporting towards substantive alignment and meaningful learning.