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OBE Implementation Across Seven Domains in Philippine Engineering Programmes

Authors

Joven B. Jacinto

Graduate Department, Saint Ferdinand College (Philippines)

Article Information

DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS.2026.100600951

Subject Category: Education

Volume/Issue: 10/6 | Page No: 13491-13503

Publication Timeline

Submitted: 2026-06-27

Accepted: 2026-07-02

Published: 2026-07-09

Abstract

Outcomes-based education (OBE) has been a mandatory quality-assurance framework for Philippine engineering programmes since 2012, yet little evidence exists on how deeply the framework has reached actual classroom practice. This study examined the extent of OBE implementation across seven domains in selected board-regulated engineering programmes in the Philippines and used qualitative evidence to explain the resulting pattern, with the aim of informing institutional policy and quality-assurance mechanisms. Using a descriptive mixed-methods design, survey data were gathered from 186 engineering faculty, academic administrators, and quality-assurance personnel across 22 board-regulated engineering higher education institutions (HEIs), complemented by 435 open-ended responses analysed through reflexive thematic analysis. Implementation was moderate overall (overall weighted mean = 3.19 on a four-point scale). Only two of the seven domains reached the highly implemented threshold: Curriculum and Programme Outcome Alignment (3.35) and Teaching and Learning Strategies (3.32). In contrast, Institutional and Administrative Support recorded the lowest mean score at 3.02. This pattern held uniformly across institutional type and accreditation status, and the seven domains were strongly intercorrelated (r = .59-.84), indicating a single interdependent implementation system rather than seven independent scores. The findings consistently show that while programs have put the basic structure of OBE in place by setting goals and mapping courses, they still need to work on deeply embedding it into actual teaching, testing, and school culture. The most frequently raised theme, a faculty training and professional-development need (31.5% of responses), together with reflections on OBE as compliance versus transformation (18.9%), suggests that the distance between formal adoption and operational practice is structural rather than attitudinal. These findings provide educational policymakers and institutional leaders with a clear view of where OBE implementation succeeds and where it needs support. To meaningfully improve classroom practice, institutions should prioritize targeted faculty development, protected time, competency-level curriculum alignment, and closed-loop quality assurance.

Keywords

outcomes-based education; engineering education; educational policy; quality assurance; faculty development; programme implementation

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