TY - JOUR
T1 - A rising tide meets a perfect storm
T2 - New accountabilities in teaching and teacher education in Ireland
AU - Conway, Paul F.
AU - Murphy, Rosaleen
PY - 2013/3
Y1 - 2013/3
N2 - This paper examines the emergence of new accountabilities in teaching and teacher education in Ireland in the 15 years period 1997-2012. Framing accountability in terms of the three main approaches to it globally in education systems, that is, compliance with regulations, adherence to professional norms and attainment of results/outcomes, we identify significant changes, particularly, in compliance- and results-driven accountability. A 'rising tide' of accountability, due to the interrelated influences of the European higher education space, education legislation and professional self-regulation policies (i.e. Teaching Council), is evident since the late 1990s. This was punctuated by a 'perfect storm' in 2010 comprising 'bad news' from PISA 2009, the economic bailout and strategic leadership at a system level. The cumulative impact of the 'rising tide' and 'perfect storm' is evident in how they reframed both 'to whom' and 'for what' accountability in teacher education relates. Significantly, the new accountabilities in teaching and teacher education reflect a move towards the dominant global education reform movement (Sahlberg 2007) with its emphasis on standardisation, narrow focus on literacy and numeracy and higher stakes accountability.
AB - This paper examines the emergence of new accountabilities in teaching and teacher education in Ireland in the 15 years period 1997-2012. Framing accountability in terms of the three main approaches to it globally in education systems, that is, compliance with regulations, adherence to professional norms and attainment of results/outcomes, we identify significant changes, particularly, in compliance- and results-driven accountability. A 'rising tide' of accountability, due to the interrelated influences of the European higher education space, education legislation and professional self-regulation policies (i.e. Teaching Council), is evident since the late 1990s. This was punctuated by a 'perfect storm' in 2010 comprising 'bad news' from PISA 2009, the economic bailout and strategic leadership at a system level. The cumulative impact of the 'rising tide' and 'perfect storm' is evident in how they reframed both 'to whom' and 'for what' accountability in teacher education relates. Significantly, the new accountabilities in teaching and teacher education reflect a move towards the dominant global education reform movement (Sahlberg 2007) with its emphasis on standardisation, narrow focus on literacy and numeracy and higher stakes accountability.
KW - accountability
KW - assessment
KW - global education reform movement
KW - Ireland
KW - policy analysis
KW - teacher education
KW - teaching
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84875966113&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03323315.2013.773227
DO - 10.1080/03323315.2013.773227
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84875966113
SN - 0332-3315
VL - 32
SP - 11
EP - 36
JO - Irish Educational Studies
JF - Irish Educational Studies
IS - 1
ER -