Perceptual Mediation in Outcome-Based Education:Philosophical Alignment, Self-Efficacy, and ImplementationEffectiveness in Post-Colonial Higher Education

Abstract

Outcome-Based Education (OBE) reform in post-colonial higher education frequently stalls at surface compliance, and existing accounts of this gap emphasise resources and training while saying little about how educators' beliefs shape implementation. This paper introduces Perceptual Mediation Theory (PMT), which specifies three educator perceptions — Philosophical Alignment (PA), Implementation Self-Efficacy (ISE), and Cultural Competency (CC) — as mediators between institutional OBE policy and classroom implementation effectiveness. Using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design in Sri Lankan management education (28 interviews, 16 classroom observations, and 20 document analyses, followed by a survey of 120 educators across five faculties), we tested PMT with structural equation modelling. The full model explained 78% of variance in implementation effectiveness (R² = .78). Philosophical alignment was the strongest direct predictor (β = .52); implementation self-efficacy partially mediated this effect (indirect β = .24, 95% CI [.17, .33]); and educators who synthesised Buddhist pedagogical principles with OBE constructivism reported higher implementation quality than those adopting Western OBE models directly. We situate these findings against competing structural and contextual explanations, position PMT relative to established theories of belief and behaviour, and discuss the implications and limits of a cross-sectional, single-context, self-report design for professional development, institutional change management, and post-colonial reform policy.