School accountability

Academy schools have now been part of the educational landscape in England for nearly two decades. Originally introduced by the New Labour government (from 1997 – 2010) in 2000, and significantly expanded and evolved by the Conservative-led Coalition government (from 2010 – 2015) in 2010, this school model has consistently adhered to Neoliberal governmentality and rhetoric, and has promised to raise educational standards and reduce the achievement gap between the most and least disadvantaged pupils. However, over the years, a growing body of contradictory evidence has fuelled major criticism and uncertainty surrounding academies and their complex relationship(s) with achievement, autonomy, accountability and collaboration. This was the focus of this paper, to delve into these debates, and review, analyse and critique the past and current evidence on the Coalition Academy Programme, ultimately questioning its success or failure in addressing the social class achievement gap.
By critiquing the growing evidence surrounding the Coalition ‘converter’ academy model (through the sociological lenses of Functionalistic, Marxist and Social and Cultural Reproduction Theory), it was found that this Academy Programme was and is being used by the Coalition (and the current Conservative) government as a functionalistic and exploitative medium for legitimising and reproducing social and educational inequality, which poses the greater risks of increased academy school selective practices, the further social segregation and exclusion of disadvantaged pupils and a continuation of the gaps in achievement between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils.
However, by critiquing other conflicting evidence surrounding the Coalition ‘sponsored’ academy model and academy chains (through the different interpretations and counter-arguments of other traditional and more contemporary researchers), it was found that working class parents themselves contribute to this social segregation, and that even though this academy policy is founded upon Neoliberal principles, they are employed through ‘quasi-markets’ and seemingly democratic rhetoric, which differs from the traditional educational markets. Policy which promises the development of the ‘self-improving school system’, increased cooperation and collaboration between schools, and a realistic and sustainable solution to the social class achievement gap.

This qualitative study explores the types of school-level teacher wellbeing initiatives reported by 51 teachers. The authors argue that the most well-received wellbeing measures are those embedded within supportive whole school cultures which aim to minimise burdensome workloads and maximise feelings of auton- omy, relatedness and competence. Analysis shows that the least effective initiatives were those that reacted to a perceived problem, but did not seek to address the cause of perceived poor wellbeing. In some cases, activities such as compulsory cooking or sports sessions infringed upon teachers’ basic needs for autonomy. Such initiatives acted as a barrier to teacher wellbeing when they were seen to respond to a perceived demand for accountability, or contribute to burdensome workloads by placing additional demands on teachers’ time. Overall, teachers favoured school poli- cies and practices which were conducive to promoting meaningful workloads, rather than one-off or limited-duration wellbeing activities.

Public policies have a moral order, an ethical horizon. They offer a vocabulary of imagined micro-policies. Using the case of Chile, this paper examines the ways in which accountability policies are reworked within schools and how they affect actors’ subjectivities. It adds new findings to the existing body of research on school account- ability policies, offering in-depth evidence based on the case of Chile, which has a high-stakes testing model and a widespread competitive voucher system. The research is based on case studies of ten public and private subsidised schools, framed by a sociological perspective of policy enactment theory. The research findings show the ways that accountability policies are recreated, expanded, and intensified at the local level, permeating an ethic of competition. The analysis focuses on three qualitative trends: school actors’ sense-making of test scores and labels; zones of safety and risk for teachers under an account- ability regime; and the emergence of a sticky web of persuasion, surveillance, and coercion among school members in order to improve performance. The practices examined are not understood as ‘secondary effects’ or an ‘implementation problem’, as if they occur unconnected from the policy rationale. The outcomes are consistent with the policy itself in interaction with school life.

This qualitative study explores the types of school-level teacher wellbeing initiatives reported by 51 teachers. The authors argue that the most well-received wellbeing measures are those embedded within supportive whole school cultures which aim to minimise burdensome workloads and maximise feelings of autonomy, relatedness and competence. Analysis shows that the least effective initiatives were those that reacted to a perceived problem, but did not seek to address the cause of perceived poor wellbeing. In some cases, activities such as compulsory cooking or sports sessions infringed upon teachers’ basic needs for autonomy. Such initiatives acted as a barrier to teacher wellbeing when they were seen to respond to a perceived demand for accountability, or contribute to burdensome workloads by placing additional demands on teachers’ time. Overall, teachers favoured school policies and practices which were conducive to promoting meaningful workloads, rather than one-off or limited-dur...