Lecturers’ Experiences in Designing OBE Modules: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
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Abstract
Curriculum development and instructional design have become central to educational reform, especially with the global shift toward Outcome-Based Education (OBE), which emphasizes the alignment of learning outcomes, teaching methods, and assessment strategies. While prior research has focused on OBE effectiveness and implementation, little is known about how university lecturers experience and make sense of designing instructional modules under OBE mandates. This study addresses that gap by asking: How do lecturers experience the process of designing OBE-aligned instructional modules in higher education? Here we show, through an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), how lecturers navigate, reflect on, and assign meaning to their instructional design experiences within the OBE framework. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with ten lecturers (6 males, 4 females) from five public and private universities across Indonesia, representing diverse academic disciplines such as engineering, social sciences, and education. The study setting spans institutions actively implementing national OBE mandates, offering a varied contextual landscape for analysis.The results reveal four major experiential themes: aligning designs with intended learning outcomes, negotiating institutional constraints with pedagogical autonomy, struggling with operationalizing OBE principles, and designing with empathy for diverse learners. These findings demonstrate that instructional design under OBE is not merely procedural but a reflective and context-dependent endeavor shaped by personal, institutional, and ethical considerations. This research enhances our understanding of curriculum development as a lived experience and informs university leaders and policymakers on the importance of supporting lecturers through training, autonomy, and institutional clarity to foster sustainable and meaningful instructional reform.
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