Learning outcomes: What are they? Who defines them? When and where are they defined?

This study aims to illuminate the phenomenon of learning outcomes. Although a wide range of studies in education have examined the phenomenon in various ways, few have investigated how scholars themselves conceive of it. To provide insight into this issue, the paper explores the following questions: How is the term “learning outcome” defined? By whom? When? Where? The investigation is based on a document analysis of a selection of 33 scholarly written documents in which the concept is discussed. Findings indicate that there is a dominant established definition of the term learning outcome. However, a wide range of alternative definitions are also identified. These assert that learning outcomes involve more than what can be described in pre-specified and measurable terms.