Educational Alternatives, Volume 13, 2015

Abstract: This study examines the variety of ways in which teachers express their own accountability. Based on the language used by teachers, the study aims to explicate how school-site accountability is perceived by the teachers. Factors to be analyzed: the content of each answer, based on three dimensions: 1. individual conceptions of responsibility; 2. shared expectations among school participant and stakeholders 3. internal & external accountability mechanisms (formal or informal). Survey data were taken from a sample consisted of 91 teachers, who filled in a self-report and respond the same question: As a teacher, what are you accountable for? The open-ended answer was limited in no more that 5 sentences. The results show that there is a little cohesion among the teachers; the used language is very different and it converges in individual responsibility; the accountability is constructed, mostly, on personal values and beliefs.