On the geography of accountability: Comparative analysis of teachers’ experiences across seven European countries

摘要

Different forms of accountability are part of educational restructuring across Europe. This article will focus on the different national configurations of accountability from teachers’ point of view. A comparative perspective will enlarge on commonalities and differences between teachers’ experiences in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, England, Sweden, Finland, and Greece. The results obtained demonstrate, on the one hand, that educational policy regarding state-initiated standardization and accountability measures vary highly within the EU. On the other hand, it emerged that the oft-cited discussion between a beneficial professional versus a simplistic performance-oriented form of accountability misses the general disbelief of teachers towards all forms of accountability. Although their work has been increasingly rendered visible over the recent past, teachers pinpointed the mismatch between monitored needs and available resources to effectively transform their educational practice.