1st Edition

Accountability in Education A Philosophical Inquiry

By Robert B. Wagner Copyright 1993

    Accountability in Education discusses the debate surrounding the accountability of teachers and questions the responsibility that parents, other groups and even children themselves have for their experience at school. In this book, Robert Wagner examines the assumptions underlying criticisms of major institutions for their lack of attention to the ethical and practical ramifications of their policies. Wagner questions the validity of this assumption by analyzing accountability relationships in schools, discussing the responsibility students have for the quality of their own experiences--as well as the potential accountability of parents and other groups--and relating the issue of accountability in education to questions of moral and legal obligation in areas such as business, government and law. His book provides a cogent philosophical analysis of accountability and is invaluable to an understanding of a majour issue in the contemporary discussion of education.

    Part I Forms of Accounting 1. Accounting to Others and Being Answerable 2. Accountability and the Aims of Education Part II The Obigation to Account 3. The Basis for Accountability Relationships 4. Responsibility and the Problem of Determinism Part III Agent Compliance and the Quality of Accountability Relationships 4. Moral and Legal Accountability 6. The Accountability and Moral Development of Students 7. Teacher Accountability: Three Basic Issues 8. Summary and Conclusions

    Biography

    Robert B. Wagne is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

    "The author presents a clear and penetrating analysis of the elements involved in accountability relationships and the conditions under which obligations of moral and legal accountability become valid and effective. The principles which evolve from this analysis are applied to the belief that student achievement can be improved by holding teachers more accountable for student performance." -- Philosopher's Index
    "In this `philosophic inquiry' into the meaning of accountability in humanity's most complex endeavor, education, Wagner avoids simplistic answers while exploring a cluster of intervening variables that impinge on the major issues of accountability. . . . Highly recommended . ." -- Choice