Agency in teacher accountability; a conceptual framework for comparative analysis

• In Event: Agentic teacher accountability; a conceptual framework for comparative research

Proposal

Various studies provide examples of variation in how teachers understand and enact their accountability. Ehren et al (2019) for example found teachers who -within the same type of ‘accounting-based’ system- had a technicist or professional orientation towards their accountability. Some teachers acted more as a professional in adapting the curriculum to benefit their learners; they described their accountability as a responsibility for high learning outcomes, rather than merely following a script developed externally. The different approaches and mindsets point to differences in agency; described by Bandura (2001: 11) as “the capacity to exercise control over the nature and quality of one’s life”. Human agency sees people as self-organising, proactive, self-regulating and self-reflecting, where self–efficacy affects one's goals and behaviours and is influenced by one's actions and conditions in the environment (Schunk & Meece, 2006). This conceptualisation includes individual characteristics that allow for agency (“capacity”), while also connecting agency with action: work-related activities and behaviours individuals or collectives engage in and how these shape their professional identity. According to Eteläpelto et al. (2013: 61) “professional agency is practiced when teachers and/or communities in schools influence, make choices, and take stances in ways that affect their work and their professional identity”. Imants and Van der Wal (2020) explain how agency is associated with individuals who, alone or in groups, in a given situation, make decisions, take initiatives, act proactively rather than reactively and deliberately strive and function to reach a certain end. This implies that agency is about individuals and collectives who are interacting with and within specific contexts. According to Priestley, Biesta and Robinson (2015) and Bandura (2006), whether a repertoire of potential practice is translated into action not only depends on the repertoire itself and individual capacity, but also on the contextual conditions in which individuals operate. This paper presents a conceptual framework which situates teachers’ approaches towards their accountability within the school, community and system-level context in which they work. The framework is currently used for a synthesis study of teacher accountability in six countries, which will be presented in the following two papers of the panel.

Author

• melanie Ehren, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam