Professionalism in the era of accountability : role discrepancy and responses among teachers in the Netherlands
Browes, Natalie (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Sociologia)
Altinyelken, Hülya K. (University of Amsterdam. Department of Child Development and Education)

Date:	2022
Abstract:	The roles and identities of professionals have undergone significanttransformation in an ever-globalising world shaped by neoliberal values. In the field of education, standardisation and outcome-based qualitymeasures have become the norm. Teachers are held accountablethrough their students' results, with their work subject to ongoingsurveillance (performance-based accountability). This has changed thenature of teachers' tasks, and what it means to be a "good teacher". Based on 20 teacher interviews across six primary schools in theNetherlands, this study examines teachers' practices and beliefs, asking:do they experience role discrepancy? What responses do we see as aresult? And, what does this reveal about teachers' sense ofprofessionalism today?Findings show that all teachers experience the pressure of highworkloads and the need to prioritise tasks. Whereas a small minority ofrespondents understand performative tasks as having a crucial functionof supporting student learning and achievement, others experienced adiscrepancy between these performative tasks and the tasks theybelieved to be at the heart of good teaching. Confronted with this,teachers responded in different ways; either incorporating all tasks intotheir schedule, or feeling forced to choose between them. Beyond this,findings indicate that teachers' understandings of key aspects of theprofession, such as autonomy, are changing in response to the policyenvironment. This supports conceptualisations of professions andprofessionalism as not only "being changed by" external reform, butchanging from within.
Grants:	European Commission. Horizon 2020 680172
Note:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Performance-based accountability ; Policy enactment ; Professionalism ; Role discrepancy ; Teachers
Published in:	British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 73, núm.1 (January 2022) , p.188-205, ISSN 1468-4446

DOI: 10.1111/1468-4446.12917

18 p, 410.4 KB

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