Accountability and education in the post-2015 scenario : International trends, enactment dynamics and socio-educational effects

Abstract

This policy paper addresses accountability in education from three different perspectives, namely, international dissemination, policy enactment and policy effects. After providing a general definition of accountability systems and presenting the main models of accountability in education (section 2), we will address key questions regarding the three mentioned perspectives. In the section on international dissemination (section 3), we focus on the main drivers in the promotion of accountability policies in education, including the key role of international organisations in this respect. By doing so, we will also discuss particular models of education accountability that are becoming dominant in the global education agenda and the reasons for their popularity. In the section on enactment (section 4), we focus on how accountability policies are perceived and received at the school level and, specifically, on how these policies are being put into practice by key educational actors. In the section on the effects of accountability (section 5), we reflect on the main implications of accountability policies in different dimensions, namely, learning outcomes, curriculum and evaluation, professional autonomy, and teacher satisfaction, among others. In the final section (section 6), we close this paper with general conclusions and by providing research and policy recommendations.