CT 4004 Please arrange the tables so you

C&T 4004 Please arrange the tables so you can work comfortably in small groups. Each working group should split into 2 smaller groups for the initial discussion Goals Deepen understanding of different kinds of accountability and of key concepts (internal and external accountability; answerability and responsibility) Deepen understanding of system capacity Agenda Working group discussions Types of accountability, internal and external accountability, answerability and responsibility Design groups

Types of accountability Political – comes from election requirements for school boards and those in other leadership and decision-making positions. Legal – comes from laws and regulations enforced through the courts. Market – comes from the opportunity for those served (in this case parents and students) to make choices (such as amongst courses, programs, or schools). Bureaucratic – comes from the policies, rules, regulations, standards, and set procedures established by leaders. Professional – comes from requirements for school members to acquire specialized knowledge, pass exams, and meet and uphold standards of practice.

An accountability system can be composed of multiple types LDH: Equity issues generally must be resolved by higher units of governance because they arise out of conflicting interests of majorities and minorities, the powerful and powerless. Matters such as the allocation of resources and guarantees of equal access can and should be bureaucratically regulated. But productivity issues cannot be addressed effectively by bureaucratic regulation because they often require context and content specific knowledge and professional experience and judgment.

Internal and External Accountability Elmore (2002): a school’s response to external pressures “is contingent on the capacity of the individual school or school district to receive the message the incentive carries, to translate it into a concrete and effective course of action, and to execute that action. ” (p. 21) Abelman & Elmore: Schools need to develop internal accountability before external accountability systems can work effectively: schools with weaker internal accountability are more like to produce superficial, fragmented and incoherent responses; schools with strong internal accountability are more likely to respond in productive and coordinated ways. Strong internal accountability grows out of instructional coherence and the belief that school staff can have a positive impact on student learning and the knowledge and skills to act on those beliefs

Accountability As answerability Accountability: The state of being accountable, liable, or answerable. Dictionary. com Answerability emphasizes that individuals and groups should be accountable for meeting specified and agreed upon procedures and/or goals.

Accountability As Responsibility Accountability: The quality or state of being accountable; an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions. Merriam-Webster Dictionary Responsibility reflects the belief that individuals and groups should be held accountable for living up to and upholding norms of conduct and higher purposes that are often ambiguous and difficult to define.

The challenges of answerability and responsibility Policies that focus on increasing answerability may lead to greater efficiency and improvements in reaching specified targets in the short-term BUT the achievement of other highly-valued goals and outcomes may be ignored or impeded in the process Policies that focus on promoting responsibility provide flexibility and room for professional judgment BUT can lead to inefficiency and may mean that short-term goals are neither specified nor achieved and that there is no way to know whether or not long-term purposes are being fulfilled.

Accountability, answerability and responsibility Improving schools is not just a matter of increasing accountability or “holding people accountable” Promoting accountability depends on finding a balance between answerability and responsibility Finding that balance involves helping people develop the means to act responsibly, making sure they have the resources, support, relationships, and skills to do the jobs they are being asked to do and to reach the goals they’ve been asked to reach.

How can school designers support the development of both individual answerability and collective responsibility? v Individuals and groups need to have the tools and resources, skills and knowledge, and social connections and support that will enable them to fulfill their obligations and play a productive role in their organization v They need to believe that individually and collectively they can reach (or at least get closer to) the goals they are being asked to reach v They need to believe that their efforts will be recognized or rewarded or at least not undermined…. (Heneman et. al, 2007)