The Comparative Politics of Accountability of New South Wales and Alberta

Abstract

This article summarizes qualitative data gathered during a series of large group presentations and focus group discussions that addressed the comparative politics of accountability in New South Wales, Australia, and Alberta, Canada. Participants compared government mandated accountability initiatives and highlighted salient features of the politics of accountability: confusion surrounding the definition of quality; the importance of involving stake-holders in the establishment of evaluation criteria; the need to articulate clearly stakeholders 'beliefs; and the changing nature of responses to questions like "Why evaluate?" and "What constitutes credible evaluation data?" Further, participants noted the potentially destructive nature of popular accountability slogans and described the need for sufficient time for educators to implement change initiatives, some teachers' resistance to change, and the importance of supportive administrative leadership. Finally, the participants noted that accountability measures in both countries had a negative impact on professional development, staff morale, and career ambition.