{"title":"‘Our system fits us’: comparing teacher accountability, motivation, and sociocultural context in Finland and Singapore","authors":"Yue-Yi Hwa","doi":"10.1080/03050068.2022.2102754","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Every teacher’s classroom practice is embedded in a system of overlapping contexts that interact with their day-to-day decisions. In this paper, I focus on sociocultural context and how it interacts with teachers’ subjective responses to accountability instruments. Drawing on interviews with secondary school teachers in Finland and Singapore – education systems with contrasting but comparably effective approaches to teacher accountability – I find that one way in which sociocultural context interacts with teachers’ experiences of accountability instruments is by influencing the mental models of motivation that shape their responses to these instruments. This finding is relevant to two contentious areas in education policy. First, it suggests that teacher accountability policy is a socioculturally embedded matter, implying a need for caution rather than recommending specific forms of accountability across the board. Second, it adds to the growing body of evidence demonstrating that ‘best practices’ from high-performing education systems are contingent on implementation contexts.","PeriodicalId":47655,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2022-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Comparative Education","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2022.2102754","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
ABSTRACT Every teacher’s classroom practice is embedded in a system of overlapping contexts that interact with their day-to-day decisions. In this paper, I focus on sociocultural context and how it interacts with teachers’ subjective responses to accountability instruments. Drawing on interviews with secondary school teachers in Finland and Singapore – education systems with contrasting but comparably effective approaches to teacher accountability – I find that one way in which sociocultural context interacts with teachers’ experiences of accountability instruments is by influencing the mental models of motivation that shape their responses to these instruments. This finding is relevant to two contentious areas in education policy. First, it suggests that teacher accountability policy is a socioculturally embedded matter, implying a need for caution rather than recommending specific forms of accountability across the board. Second, it adds to the growing body of evidence demonstrating that ‘best practices’ from high-performing education systems are contingent on implementation contexts.
期刊介绍:
This international journal of educational studies presents up-to-date information with analyses of significant problems and trends throughout the world. Comparative Education engages with challenging theoretical and methodological issues - and also considers the implications of comparative studies for the formation and implementation of policies - not only in education but in social, national and international development. Thus it welcomes contributions from associated disciplines in the fields of government, management, sociology - and indeed technology and communications - as these affect educational research and policy decisions.