Meaning‐Making, Negotiation, and Change in School Accountability, Or What Sociology Can Offer Policy Studies

Abstract

In school systems around the world, countless reform strategies have focused on school and teacher accountability-the process of evaluating schools' performance on the basis of student measures.Policy and education research has been dominated by debates on its effectiveness, where advocates highlight the positive effects on achievement while critics emphasize the negative consequences on pressure, morale, and autonomy. Yet the question is not so much whether to have accountability, but what form it should take. To answer this, sociologists contribute through their study of accountability's organizational and ecological dynamics-key facets that are sidelined when researchers only focus on quantitative program evaluation. An organizational perspective highlights the meaning-making school actors and the general public have of the policy, viewing it through technical-rationalist and institutional-performative lenses. An ecological perspective highlights how the form of accountability is a negotiated outcome of larger macrosocial forces, and how accountability is itself contributive to larger social changes. This review suggests a broader conceptualization of accountability regimes, and the unique contribution of critical, organizational, and sociological perspectives to the study of public policies.

Global Education Governance and Systems Change in Developing Contexts: International Organizations and Local Responses

“…For any top-down policy to influence changes in instruction and learning, it must have a clear theory of change and a set of directions that schools and systems can use. One criticism of test-based accountability, for example, is its inability to clarify the directions schools should pursue upon receiving low scores (Ravitch, 2016;Trinidad, 2022). Thus, similar global policies that provide little criteria for change can have little influence.…”

“…One of the potential reasons for the lack of influence of GEG is because of the unclear next steps that ensue from a country ranking. Similar to test-based school accountability that ranks and/or rates schools based on test scores, countries are not given information on what particular aspects to improve (Diamond & Spillane, 2004;Ravitch, 2016;Trinidad, 2022). Thus, even with good intentions to improve a whole educational system, a country may be unable to do it in the absence of clear rubrics.…”

Comparison to Perceptions of Teachers and Head Teachers about Accountability Measures for Public School Improvement in Punjab

“…The professional accountability approach emerged in response to the bureaucratic accountability approach, the more profound claim teaching is a basic attribute of students' learning (Trinidad, 2023). The best results are only achieved by imposing rules and regulations.…”

Investigating the Relationship Between Smartphone Use and Social Dominance Orientation in University Students

“…Bu çalışmada bağımlılık düzeyinde etkin olan akıllı telefon alışkanlığı bir değişken olarak ele alınmaktadır. Temel yaklaşımımız, akıllı telefon aracılığıyla bireyin ait olduğu gruptan daha fazla etkilenerek diğer gruplara karşı olumsuz tutum ve davranış içine girebileceğidir (Trinidad 2023). Burada yoğun telefon kullanımı, bir neden olarak değil, ilişkisel olarak grup iletişiminin artmasıyla grup dinamiklerinin kolaylaşmasında, güçlenmesinde ve yönlenmesinde aracı bir faktör olarak değerlendirilmiştir.…”

“…Çalışmada "bağımlılık" kavramı, yoğun kullanımı saptamak ve işaret etmek amacıyla kullanılmıştır. Psikolojinin birey için işaret ettiği sonuçlar, sosyolojik yaklaşımla, gruplar ölçeğinde de ortaya çıkarılabilir (Trinidad 2023). Yanlış veya yönlendirici haberlerin grup için etkin olmasıyla bizzat grup üyelerine veya diğer gruplara karşı zarar verici eylemler görülebilir.…”