The traditional methods of teaching have become obsolete and ineffective in preparing students for the 21st century industrialized and technologically-based job market. The stand and deliver lecture methods of more than two decades ago do not provide students with the learning opportunities to acquire critical competences and skills to develop their own knowledge and problem-solve in real life situations (Allais, 2007; Donnelly,(2007). In addition to being spoon-fed facts out of texts, students are not given opportunities to develop appropriate independent learning as well as social skills such as cooperative and collaborative learning, negotiating skills, speaking and listening skills and being open to divergent perspectives on issues. This paper uses qualitative research method, a social justice inquiry approach from the critical social science tradition (Denzin & Lincoln; 2011) to analyse existing literature in areas of performance-based education to compare learning outcomes and competencies against current traditional passive certificate-based qualification. It is hoped that the outcome of this effort will help students develop skills that would assist them to think independently, work cooperatively with their peers while deepening their knowledge base.
Keywords: Competence, Outcome-Based Learning (OBL), Performance-Based Education (PBE), Skills, certificate-based qualifications, educational outcomes
