New Federal Teacher Preparation Accountability Regulation: Reshaping Political, Professional, and Market Forces

• In Event: Federal and State Higher Education Policy Making

Abstract

This study offers a critical policy analysis of the 2014 teacher preparation regulation proposed by the federal government, designed to alter the higher education accountability system. Using frame analysis and Burke’s Accountability Triangle (2005), we reviewed 74 policy documents and tools, media artifacts, and position statements relevant to the new regulation. Our critical analysis revealed a shift between the political, professional, and market forces identified by Burke (2005) in higher education accountability systems. The new federal regulation concentrates political accountability forces within the U.S. Department of Education, limiting autonomy at the state level. Our analysis also revealed that the political and market forces overlapped, as political priorities are directly connected to market interests and logic.

Authors

• Maria Beatriz Fernandez Cofre, Boston College

• Stephani Burton, Boston College