Matching

Abstract

This chapter discusses the rise of demands for evaluation and accountability, focuses on some attempts at meeting these demands and suggests ways in which primary schools might move in the 'eighties if the demand for accountability is to be used positively and helpfully for teachers, pupils and the general public alike, It looks at the development of monitoring and accountability systems as a political and administrative response to these issues. The chapter shows that the development of accounting procedures for teachers and schools based on the monitoring of pupil achievements is inconsistent with the ideals of progressive education. It outlines an alternative model of public accountability which is school-rather than bureaucratically-based and likely to be more acceptable to progressive educators. In primary education professional intuition about the appropriateness of curricula in meeting pupils' 'needs' and the effectiveness of schools in fulfilling their generalized goals has been challenged.