Studies in Higher Education

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Learning outcomes and critical thinking – good

intentions in conflict

Martin G. Erikson & Malgorzata Erikson

To cite this article: Martin G. Erikson & Malgorzata Erikson (2019) Learning outcomes and
critical thinking – good intentions in conflict, Studies in Higher Education, 44:12, 2293-2303, DOI:
10.1080/03075079.2018.1486813

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1486813

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STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION
2019, VOL. 44, NO. 12, 2293–2303
https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1486813

Learning outcomes and critical thinking – good intentions in

conflict
a b
Martin G. Erikson and Malgorzata Erikson
a
Department of Educational Research and Development, University of Borås, Borås, Sweden; bSchool of Public
Administration, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The notion of critical thinking and its theoretical complexity are used as a Critical thinking; learning
case for an epistemological critique of the model of intended learning outcomes; purposes of
outcomes. The conclusion is that three problems of learning outcomes, education; student
previously discussed in the literature, become even more challenging experience; curriculum
when seen in the light of critical thinking. The first problem concerns
interpretations, as the use of learning outcomes is dependent on
advanced but implicit interpretative frameworks. The second is the
problem of educational goals that cannot be expressed through learning
outcomes, and the third is the risk that learning outcomes may establish
a ceiling for student ambitions. It is argued that the example of critical
thinking shows the seriousness of the epistemological critique of
learning outcomes and how the use of learning outcomes can divert
teachers’ and students’ attention away from important goals.

The higher education sector worldwide has undergone a substantial transformation during the past
decades. Behind this development is the belief that higher education can provide solutions to many
national and global challenges – a belief shared by stakeholders both outside and inside academia. A
rational for this belief is that it is beneficial to society as well as to the individual that higher education
is based on academic values and principles, as it will provide not only professional skills, but also
general skills such as critical thinking. The point of departure of the present paper is that to
uphold such academic values and principles, teachers, managers and policymakers alike must be
able to explicate them and the possible threats against them, and let them be part of an academic
discussion involving all of academia. To do so is to behave responsibly both towards future students
and towards society at large.
The higher education sector has in recent years seen the introduction of formal models for how
teaching and learning should be approached, administrated and evaluated so as to ensure efficient
education of high quality (e.g. Jackson 2000). Such formal models have been introduced not least in
an attempt to make higher education more transparent for students and other stakeholders. One
example is the model of intended learning outcomes (e.g. Biggs and Tang 2011; Havnes and Prøitz
2016; Hussey and Smith 2002). We will not question the good intentions behind the model, but it
is worth considering how it fits with the principles and values assumed to make higher education
beneficial to society, one such principle being the promotion of critical thinking. The purpose of
the present paper is to analyse the extent to which the learning outcome model is compatible
with the ambition to develop students’ critical thinking.

CONTACT Martin G. Erikson martin_g.erikson@hb.se Department of Educational Research and Development, University of
Borås, Borås 501 90, Sweden
© 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://
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original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
2294 M. G. ERIKSON AND M. ERIKSON

Critical thinking as a purpose of higher education

The purposes of higher education can be identified on different levels. There are modern policy dis-
cussions being pursued by, for example, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers (2007), which
state that students should be prepared for employment, as well as undergo personal development
and be prepared to be active participants in a democratic society. Here, we see traces of Cardinal
Newman’s (1852) notion of higher education as a ‘cultivation of the mind’. For the level of classroom
practice, purposes need to be expressed in more specific terms relating to actual student skills and
knowledge, and there is no shortage of such discussions, which also have clear historical roots. In his
vision for Berlin University written in 1809 or 1810, Wilhelm von Humboldt stressed the need for stu-
dents to understand the uncertainty of knowledge and develop a scholarly attitude (Humboldt 1970).
The need to give students a researcher’s outlook has been a leitmotif throughout the history of higher
education since Humboldt, through the German philosopher Jaspers (1959) to the present-day call
for research-based education. Despite the claims made by, for example, Pechar (2012), who
argued that the old Humboldtian ideals were out-dated and elitist, the ideal lives on, adapted to
the modern world, and is perhaps now more relevant than ever in the age of expanding higher edu-
cation. For example, whereas the concept of employability is a modern addition to the academic dis-
course, the needs of the Prussian civil service were an important concern for Humboldt, and the idea
of preparing for life-long learning is, mutatis mutandis, evident in the works of both Newman and
Humboldt (though perhaps with different ideological framings). The common theme is students’
intellectual development, today often expressed as critical thinking, a term found across a number
of otherwise different theoretical standpoints concerning the purposes of higher education.
Only a brief introduction of the intricate concept of critical thinking is possible here as the concept
covers a wide set of phenomena, but this introduction will provide a context for the use of learning
outcomes. It is important to understand that discussions about critical thinking differ in scope. A
limited notion of critical thinking is to see it as the ability to think scientifically in a disciplinary
context, as exemplified by Reddy and Lantz (2010). Still, also in a strict disciplinary context, critical
thinking is often expected to go further than ‘methodological reasoning’ and include comprehending
the epistemological and ontological peculiarities of the studied disciplines (e.g. Erikson and Erlandson
2015). Using a broader conception, which goes beyond methodological and disciplinary boundaries,
critical thinking can be seen as the ability to critically reflect on personal experiences and the world at
large. This has also been linked to the view that higher education should have an emancipatory func-
tion, with critical thinking being a central tool for student empowerment (e.g. Barnett 2011, 2015;
Bowell 2017).
On a general level, critical thinking has been defined as a set of abilities or cognitive skills related
to logical analysis and evaluation of arguments (e.g. Facione 2000; Giancarlo and Facione 2001;
Pithers and Soden 2000; Stupnisky et al. 2008). Giancarlo and Facione (2001, 30) defined critical think-
ing as ‘purposeful, self-regulatory judgment, a human cognitive process. As a result of this non-linear,
recursive process, a person forms a judgment about what to believe or what to do in a given context’.
It has also been argued that, as a central purpose of higher education, critical thinking must include
dispositions for using these abilities. These dispositions include both the ability to distinguish situ-
ations that call for critical thinking and the motivation to actually think critically in those situations
(e.g. Facione 2000; Giancarlo and Facione 2001; Halpern 1998). Further, it is possible to expand the
notion of critical thinking to include, for example, the willingness and ability to communicate and
uphold a clear exchange of ideas, particularly the ability to argue or seek clarifications (e.g.
Andrews 2015; Barnett 2011, 2015; Ennis 2015). Critical thinking can also be problematized in
other ways. One position is that critical thinking involves different abilities in different disciplinary tra-
ditions (e.g. Moore 2011). Another position is that critical thinking is treated as a general set of abil-
ities and dispositions (e.g. Davies 2013). For the sake of simplicity, the second position is used
implicitly in the present paper. In practice, these two positions can also be combined, as shown by
Andrews (2015): It is possible to see critical thinking as a general set of abilities and dispositions,
 STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION 2295

and at the same time argue that their manifestation in an educational setting only can be recognized
by a scholar well versed in the subject matter on which the critical thinking is applied. Andrews also
discussed other lines of demarcation regarding perspectives on critical thinking: On the one hand, we
can depict critical thinking as the ability to reach reliable conclusions, on the other, we can depict it as
a generally sceptical outlook. Naturally, adopting one of these positions over the other has conse-
quences for how we expect students to develop during their transition at university.
As is evident from Barnett (2015), the role of critical thinking in higher education takes on different
meanings if it is seen in a strict disciplinary context as opposed to in a generic context, where stu-
dents are expected to think critically on a wide set of problems and situations also outside their
areas of disciplinary expertise. Following Barnett (2015), it can be argued that having critical thinking
abilities and dispositions beyond disciplinary contexts also supports ‘employability’. A basic level
would be having the ability to distinguish lack of scientific evidence and to promote the use of scien-
tific reasoning, which is relevant as a countermeasure to what Berg (2017) described as an increased
tendency towards downplaying the importance of scientific proofs in political decision-making. It has
also been argued that critical thinking is vital for students’ future roles as citizens in democratic
societies (e.g. Barnett 2011, 2015). In a modern context, this is emphasized by the need to problema-
tize, for example, the ‘fake news’ circulating in social media (e.g. Bowell 2017; Frederiksen 2017; Peters
2017).
At least since the trial of Socrates, awareness of the potential dangers of critical thinking has been
part of the Western tradition. Standing up for critical thinking means doing so also in situations where
critical thinking may suddenly become ‘dangerous’. It is one thing that critical thinking is a threat to
those who wish to manipulate through fake news or flawed knowledge claims. It is another thing that
students’ critical thinking does not necessarily mean they will reach the same conclusions as their
teachers do. When students develop critical thinking skills, this is the opposite of accepting authority,
and as Andrews (2015) pointed out, teachers might not like students disagreeing with them, but criti-
cal thinking must allow students to do so. Critical thinking beyond the strict scientific methodological
sense also means that students will take their various private ideological standpoints – from Marxist
to neo-liberal – as valid points of departure. Critical thinking is not about what conclusions students
reach – it is about how they reach them. Accepting this can be seen as a matter of treating students as
adults, where students are expected to assume responsibility for their knowledge and at the same
time downplaying the role of teacher authority. This is a view that brings us straight back to the
vision of higher education expressed by Jaspers (1959). Expressed differently, supporting critical
thinking is a matter of supporting students’ academic freedom (e.g. Macfarlane 2017). Expecting stu-
dents to reach ‘correct’ conclusions or, worse, assessing students’ critical thinking based on the
degree to which they reach ‘correct’ conclusions, is the antithesis of supporting their critical thinking.
Taken together, these discussions show the degree to which conceptions of critical thinking are
dependent on context, interpretation, and scholarship – and on having the academic freedom to
engage in this interpretation. Nonetheless, students are expected to develop critical thinking as a
desired outcome of higher education, and such expectations bring us to the issue of formal
models of intended learning outcomes.

Intended learning outcomes

Central to the idea of intended learning outcomes is that education should be planned based on the
competence students are intended to develop, and not on the content the teachers happen to have
the intention to teach. Thus, the learning outcome model helps us shift the focus from the teacher to
the results of students’ learning processes. The literature is wide-ranging, but reviews of the historical
development of the model are found in, for example, Allan (1996) and Havnes and Prøitz (2016). An
important aspect of formulating an intended learning outcome is to select a verb that describes stu-
dents’ future ability in relation to subject matter – in the first year, for example, being able to
‘describe’ or ‘explain’, eventually progressing to more advanced intended abilities in a later year,
2296 M. G. ERIKSON AND M. ERIKSON

for example, being able to ‘analyse’ or ‘criticize’ (e.g. Allan 1996; Biggs and Tang 2011; Gosling and
Moon 2002; Jackson 2000). Learning outcomes are expected to show students what they have to
accomplish in order to pass. The latter is stressed by Gosling and Moon (2002, 11): ‘Students have
a right to know what they should be learning and the basis on which their work will be judged’.
This is the principle of constructive alignment, which means that teaching activities and assessment
should be aligned to the intended learning outcomes (e.g. Biggs and Tang 2011; Gosling and
Moon 2002).
The learning outcome model has been endorsed in higher education policy initiatives worldwide,
as reviewed by Havnes and Prøitz (2016). In Europe, the Bologna-project makes learning outcomes a
central tool, the aim of which is to make educational programmes transparent and comparable (e.g.
Froment et al. 2006). In Sweden, for example, the law defines learning outcomes on the programme
level. According to Havnes and Prøitz (2016), the learning outcomes initiative has the ‘ … double
intention of changing higher education systems and the mindset associated with teaching and learn-
ing practices … ’ (206). The potential of using learning outcomes as management tools has also been
pointed out by a number of proponents: Learning outcomes have been adopted by managers for de-
privatization of courses and for giving institutional and departmental leadership tools for quality
assurance and accountability (e.g. Aamodt, Frølich, and Stensaker 2018; Caspersen and Frølich
2015; Jackson 2000).
A number of critical concerns have been raised against the learning outcome model. They can be
roughly divided into two kinds, though they are often combined in the literature. The first kind of
critique challenges the use of learning outcomes as a managerial tool, where it is argued that
using learning outcomes can diminish teachers’ academic freedom and divert academic attention
by putting administrative practices at the forefront (e.g. Clegg and Ashworth 2004; Furendi 2012;
Havnes and Prøitz, 2016; Hussey and Smith 2002, 2008; Lassnigg 2012). These critical voices are
also concerned about the use of learning outcomes for quality assurance. The debate on the pros
and cons of learning outcomes as tools for management and evaluations follows, to a certain
degree, ideological lines, particularly as a critique of neo-liberal positions. However, even those in
favour of using learning outcomes for quality assurance might consider Biesta’s (2009) caveat,
which is that there is a risk in focusing too much on what can be measured, because we risk
losing sight of desirable outcomes that cannot be measured. There are also empirical findings
suggesting that even if formal learning outcomes for a course exist, their influence on teaching
and assessment practice might not be as profound as the adopted policies suggest (e.g. Dobbins
et al. 2016; Furendi 2012; Hadjianastasis 2017; Havnes and Prøitz, 2016; Lassnigg 2012; Schoepp
2017).
The second kind of critique challenges implicit epistemological assumptions associated with learn-
ing outcomes, concerning both how teachers understand and use learning outcomes, and how stu-
dents can understand and be helped by them. In relation to teachers’ use of learning outcomes, it is
argued that conceptualizations of knowledge are much more complex than the learning outcome
model suggests. Hussey and Smith (2002) argued that learning outcomes ‘ … give the impression
of precision only because we unconsciously interpret them against a prior understanding of what
is required. In brief, they are parasitic upon the very knowledge and understanding that they are sup-
posed to be explicating’ (225). As argued by, for example, Entwistle (2005) and Allais (2012), differ-
ences between disciplinary subjects add further complexity and increase the risk of
oversimplification. The implicit interpretations go further, as Hussey and Smith (2002) pointed out
that verbs such as ‘describe’, ‘analyse’ or ‘demonstrate’ mean different things in different disciplines.
Further, the idea that the verb ‘understand’ denotes a level of learning less demanding that ‘analyse’
is valid only in relation to a preconception of the competence called for; it is not a relation inherent in
the verbs’ meanings (see also Clegg and Ashworth 2004; Hadjianastasis 2017). Here, it ought to be
added that different teachers will have different disciplinary understandings and thus may have
different interpretations of the same learning outcome (including setting different standards for
when a learning outcome has been reached). First, this means that learning outcomes are not as
 STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION 2297

beneficial for transparency as the literature promoting them suggests. Second, it means that teachers
must assume the responsibility for interpreting learning outcomes and must be given the academic
freedom to do so.
According to Avis (2000), a further problem is that not every goal of higher education can be
expressed as a learning outcome. As shown by James and Brown (2005), this is particularly proble-
matic if all learning outcomes are expected to be open to traditional assessments, as suggested
by the model of constructive alignment. There are at least two dimensions to this. First, it concerns
what cannot be expressed as learning outcomes. Second, it concerns what might be expressed as
learning outcomes but cannot be assessed. This problem is summed up in Reindal’s (2013) argument
that if educational goals are made explicit only when formulated as learning outcomes, there is a risk
that teachers will have a limited understanding of goals and perhaps even lose sight of some of them,
thus meeting students with an outlook directed only at aspects that can be covered by learning
outcomes.
When it comes to the students, they lack their teachers’ expertise, and therefore have a much
more limited interpretative framework, leading to more trivial interpretations (e.g. Allais 2012;
Havnes and Prøitz 2016; Hussey and Smith 2002, 2003, 2008). The more unfamiliar students are
with academia and/or the disciplinary subject, the less they understand about the expectations
expressed in the learning outcomes. As noted by Clegg and Ashworth (2004), this particularly proble-
matizes the assumption that learning outcomes can make educational goals more transparent for
non-traditional students. The students’ limited interpretations also challenge the notion of construc-
tive alignment: Having a limited understanding of learning outcomes – which is a natural effect of
students being novices in their field – will not give them much command of what eventually will
be expected of them. In line with this, Hussey and Smith (2008) argued that, at the course level, a
set of learning outcomes ‘ … would state little more than an annotated list of contents. Attempts
to make them precise statements for exactly specifying assessment tasks or for audit by those not
familiar with the subject area are futile’ (114). At the programme level, learning outcomes would
be even less informative (see also Avis 2000; Hussey and Smith 2002, 2003).
If students are told exactly, through learning outcomes, what they are expected to achieve in order
to pass, they are also given the message that this is how far they need to strive (e.g. Havnes and Prøitz
2016; Hussey and Smith 2002). In other words, a ceiling is created – a ceiling at which students can
safely stop, knowing that any further achievements will not be rewarded. The more weight the learn-
ing outcome model is given, the more central this ceiling can become in students’ understanding of
higher education. Naturally, it is easy to say that teachers must be careful not to create ceilings
through the learning outcomes, but if goals are to be transparent and show students what is
expected of them in order to pass, there is hardly any need for them to strive further. In addition,
a ceiling is created out of students’ necessarily limited understanding of what they are intended
to learn.
The consequences of the above-discussed issues do not only concern teachers and students. Insti-
tutional management is also at risk of having their attention diverted or delimited, losing sight of edu-
cational goals that are not or cannot be covered by learning outcomes. If institutional management is
not aware of the need for interpretation and of the support teachers need in this process, further ill
effects might be seen: A learning outcome written based on a lifetime’s disciplinary and pedagogical
experience might be seen as trivial to a novice given the responsibility for the course at a later date.
As Reindal (2013) warned, there is a risk that teachers will be given roles and resources strictly in
relation to learning outcomes. Reindal even suggested that unless the dangers of a naïve understand-
ing of learning outcomes are addressed, there might eventually be a situation in which learning out-
comes define what constitutes an ‘educated person’.
Given the widespread use of the learning outcome model and its influence (or assumed influence)
on higher education practice, the critical voices cannot be ignored. Regardless of one’s position on
the first kind of critique, concerning managerial purposes and quality assurance, the second kind
of critique, concerning epistemological issues, alone calls for serious consideration, also by those
2298 M. G. ERIKSON AND M. ERIKSON

advocating outcome-based quality assurance (see also Lassnigg 2012). To explore this critique
further, the matter of the epistemological shortcomings of the learning outcome model will be
placed in the context of critical thinking as a purpose of higher education.

Learning outcomes and critical thinking

In the literature, the learning outcome model’s epistemological shortcomings are mainly seen in
relation to disciplinary subject matter, but further aspects come into play when expectations concern-
ing students’ critical thinking are added. Following the discussion above, this will be examined in
relation to (1) interpretations of learning outcomes, (2) goals that cannot be expressed as learning
outcomes, and (3) learning outcomes becoming a ceiling for student ambitions.

Critical thinking and the interpretation of learning outcomes

When learning outcomes are expected to cover critical thinking, the problem of interpretation
suggested by, for example, Hussey and Smith (2002) becomes more complex because the interpret-
ative framework needs to go beyond disciplinary content, as the interpretation must cover the
concept of critical thinking as well. Further, the interpretation should also include an understanding
of why critical thinking is a relevant outcome in the first place, and the interpretative framework must,
therefore, include the purposes of higher education as well. Critical thinking can be expressed very
differently in learning outcomes, from explicit references to the ability to ‘criticize’, to more elusive
descriptions of ‘analysing’ or even ‘understanding’, if such an understanding is dependent on judge-
ments and systematic scrutiny of complex material. These examples not only illustrate Hussey and
Smith’s (2002) critique of the idea that learning outcome verbs give a clear picture of the difficulty
of a module, but also explicate the complexity of interpretation. First, this is because an understand-
ing of the purposes of higher education is needed for all interpretations of learning outcomes, even if
they purportedly concern a limited aspect of disciplinary subject matter. Second, this is because
learning outcomes including verbs such as ‘criticize’ will not promote critical thinking unless the
teacher interprets them in such a way, and steers students in such directions. Otherwise, the
ability to criticize might just as well be a matter of reproducing a critical discussion found in the lit-
erature or even uncritical acceptance of a critical discourse presented by the teacher, where attempts
to gainsay these positions as a result of students’ own critical thinking may even be rebutted.
Taking these interpretations further, the formulation of learning outcomes is dependent on
assumptions about how the learning outcome may possibly be understood by colleagues and stu-
dents. Here, the teachers may be aiming to write a learning outcome that is also useful for a colleague
who is inexperienced with critical thinking as a concept, but the limited format of learning outcomes
is a hindrance here. In other words, the possible interpretation can be based on very different ideas
about what critical thinking ought to be (regardless of the intentions behind the original formulation).
The use of learning outcomes does not limit the need for colleagues to communicate – it necessitates
their communication. Is a learning outcome about critical thinking a matter of emancipatory empow-
erment or a matter of scientific reasoning? Is critical thinking about finding as a basis for reliable jud-
gements or about forming a sceptical position? When learning outcomes for educational
programmes are defined at the national level, these issues become even more vital.
Summing up so far, the example of critical thinking demonstrates how disciplinary competence is
only one aspect of teaching knowledge: It is in connection with pedagogical expertise concerning
educational purposes as well as, for example, the concept of critical thinking that the entirety of
teaching competence is found. This amalgamation of disciplinary and pedagogical competence is
what Shulman (1987) labelled pedagogical content matter. The serious undertaking of interpreting
learning outcomes about critical thinking also shows how pedagogical competence extends far
beyond mere classroom practice.
 STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION 2299

If it is difficult for teachers to understand learning outcomes intended to cover critical thinking, the
discussion above demonstrates that it would be even more difficult for students. However, the
example of critical thinking also shows that it is an oversimplification to only see students’
interpretations in terms of limited disciplinary competence, as interpretation of learning outcomes
calls for wider competence than that. Students bring with them ideas, roles and ambitions (or
lack thereof), which influence how they interpret learning outcomes (or whether they read
them at all). Student’s cultural background can also influence how they engage in critical think-
ing, and influence their willingness to engage in critical discussions in seminars (e.g. Lun, Fischer,
and Ward 2010) In some cases, students’ ideological standpoints and ensuing opinions about
what they regard as ‘accepted’ academic content may cause them to focus more on criticism
than on critical thinking. If mixed with student cultures of the kind discussed by, for example,
Morris (2015), where students call for the right to refuse to confront course content that is
deemed disturbing or call for ‘comfort zones’ or ‘trigger warnings’, this may become even
more volatile. This puts a new light on the ambition to make critical thinking a matter of eman-
cipatory empowerment, as such a student attitude certainly challenges power while standing in
contrast to the notion of critical thinking as non-judgemental scrutiny of new ideas. One con-
clusion is that this demonstrates how a disposition or willingness to communicate and exchange
ideas actually is a vital aspect of critical thinking, as suggested by Andrews (2015), Barnett (2011,
2015) and Ennis (2015), something that might be emphasized more in discussions of critical
thinking.

Goals of higher education that cannot be expressed as learning outcomes

As discussed by, for example, Reindal (2013), there are desired results of higher education that
cannot be expressed as ordinary learning outcomes, either because they concern aspects of
student learning that cannot be formalized or because students’ learning cannot be measured.
In relation to critical thinking, both kinds of limitations can be found. If we want our students to
develop a disposition for critical thinking that includes self-reflection or critical reflection on the
world at large, these dispositions cannot be separated from the students’ private worldviews.
Writing learning outcomes about such outcomes implies expectations of performativity that can
be seen as an infringement on students’ academic freedom (e.g. Macfarlane 2017). Creating learn-
ing outcomes that specify the ‘correct’ outcome of critical thinking is contrary to the very idea of
critical thinking, at least if we go beyond strict scientific reasoning. Here, there is a further limitation:
Even if it is possible to measure these abilities and dispositions, few teachers would be expected or
prepared to fail their students because they do not develop a disposition to think critically in their
private life.
The next issue is learning outcomes that cannot be measured and therefore cannot be expressed
as a learning outcome in the traditional sense. There are indeed a number of tests of critical think-
ing skills, as reviewed by Dumitru et al. (2018) as well as Liu, Frankel, and Roohr (2014), so that par-
ticular issue might be handled, depending on institutional policy and teachers’ competence,
including their stance on psychometrics. A greater problem is the desired effects of higher edu-
cation that cannot be recognized until long after the student has graduated. Life-long learning is
a clear example, as it has been assumed since the days of Humboldt that a life-long interest in
new knowledge is spurred by critical thinking. Still, the extent to which students will become
life-long learners cannot be assessed. What can be assessed are the skills and dispositions to
think critically in a particular context, in the hope that these will eventually promote life-long learn-
ing in other contexts as well. However, if life-long learning is left out of the explicit goals to be
reached, both students and teachers will be easily diverted from this aspect of critical thinking
and the connection will be easily forgotten, as will the importance of life-long learning as a rationale
for developing critical thinking. This is a good example of the risk that using learning outcomes will
2300 M. G. ERIKSON AND M. ERIKSON

divert teachers’ attention away from important goals not covered by these outcomes, as discussed
by Reindal (2013).

Learning outcomes as a ceiling for student ambitions

Learning outcomes as a ceiling for students’ ambitions is one thing when it concerns theoretical
depth in disciplinary matters or the ability to use practical tools for data analysis. It is another
thing, however, in relation to dispositions for critical thinking, where the ceiling issue becomes a
matter of students’ attitudes towards knowledge and their willingness to assume responsibility for
their own knowledge and intellectual development. Just as using learning outcomes can divert tea-
chers from their academic responsibility, students can be diverted from theirs, by the naïve con-
ception of intellectual development implicit in a list of fixed outcomes to strive for. Here, the wall
of outcomes might conceal from the student the need for critical thinking and related issues. On
the other hand, students’ limited interpretative frameworks might be the good news. Their restricted
understanding of the learning outcomes might, in fact, be a protection against forming too firm a
ceiling.
The notion of the ceiling can be taken further. If promotion of critical thinking includes defending
students’ academic freedom and their right to disagree with their teachers, it is counterproductive to
build in mechanisms that divert students’ ambitions away from following roads of inquiry guided by
their own personal interests. The melting pot where critical thinking meets disciplinary subject matter
creates situations where students’ developments can take unexpected paths. It might be that only a
few students actually follow such a path or even have the capacity to follow it, but the rarer and more
precious the experience is, the more it should be supported. Further, this is only seldom a matter of
students disagreeing with a teacher, but instead a matter of students surprising the teacher, which
also gives the teacher new insights. When all outcomes are defined beforehand, the system hardly
supports students trying go the extra mile and teachers are hardly encouraged to reward students
who go outside the box. Instead, teachers find themselves in the situation that Havnes and Prøitz
(2016) warned about, where the use of learning outcomes fosters compliance.

Conclusions and implications

The purpose of the present paper was to analyse the extent to which the learning outcome model is
compatible with the ambition to develop students’ critical thinking. Taken together, the study
suggests that Reindal’s (2013) fear that the learning outcome model delimits teachers’ understanding
can be even more prominent when critical thinking is added as a further component in the analysis.
The example of critical thinking also explicates how the use of learning outcomes can reduce the
agency of both teachers and students, as argued by Avis (2000).
While there are reasons for serious concerns about naïve use of learning outcomes, interested and
responsible teachers ought to be able to use them as a tool for planning and reviewing courses, pro-
grammes, and particular lectures or seminars. After all, the critique of the learning outcome model is
not a critique of the idea that education ought to be planned in accordance with what students are
expected to learn. However, such a use of learning outcomes depends on teachers being given the
academic freedom needed to formulate learning outcomes and to interpret already formulated learn-
ing outcomes. The teachers must also willingly assume the academic responsibility inherent in this
freedom and engage in collegial discussions about the meaning of learning outcomes and issues
such as critical thinking. If academic freedom is not given, or teachers are not willing or able to
assume this responsibility, Hussey and Smith’s (2008) critical position is justified and learning out-
comes can at best be a tool for planning a single lecture. Here, the risk associated with administrative
models, such as strict application of learning outcomes, is that they hide the academic responsibility
of both teachers and students behind formal structures.
 STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION 2301

Regarding students, the problems of learning outcomes are different, owing to their limited inter-
pretative framework, which severely restricts the potential for learning outcomes to fulfil their
assumed communicative functions. This is not a critique of the idea that students have the right
to know what their teachers expect from them, but expectations have to be communicated in a
way that makes them comprehensible. If we wish to follow Jaspers’ vision for higher education,
where students are treated as responsible adults who are able to develop critical thinking skills, stu-
dents can expect their teachers to engage them in dialogue about their expectations rather than
devoting energy to finding the right measurable verbs, based on an administrative formality.
Helping students understand what is expected of them is vital if they are to assume a student role
where they see the point of being critical thinkers and striving to meet role expectations.
Learning outcomes might also be a viable tool for quality assurance as long as they are paired with
an awareness of the unavoidable need for interpretation and the risks associated with naïve assump-
tions about measurable verbs. Quality assurance staff and academic developers need to look beyond
the buzzwords and the convenience of one-size-fits-all simplifications and apply the same critical
thinking they expect the students in their institutions to develop. Regarding institutional manage-
ment, they must ask themselves whether the foremost goal is to promote critical thinking on all
levels, or to apply a formal set of rules for how educational endeavours should be organized. This
question shows the difference between the organization of education based on academic goals,
on the one hand, and based on administrative goals, on the other. It should hardly be controversial
to believe that if institutions of higher education are to meet society’s expectation by helping stu-
dents mature into critical thinkers through their transition at university, it is academic goals that
should be given precedence, also when systematizing the work of the teachers supporting the
students.
Finally, there is a surprising lack of empirical investigations on how teachers and students actually
interpret the learning outcomes formally imposed on them. Considering how important assumptions
about students’ understanding are in the arguments for constructive alignment expressed by, for
example, Biggs and Tang (2011), the critique offered by Hussey and Smith (2002) and others – devel-
oped further in the present analysis – call for empirical investigation. Those who promote the use of
learning outcomes and constructive alignment ought to be particularly interested in empirical studies
on how well the theoretical assumptions align with students’ reality.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID
Martin G. Erikson http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4005-310X
Malgorzata Erikson http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0787-1880

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