This research aims to understand the perceptions of a group of secondary school teachers and principals regarding the place of academic achievement within the bureaucratic accountability structure. The research focus is, from the educators’ perspectives, to what extent the Ministry of National Education holds them and their schools accountable for academic achievement. The data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with a group of 30 teachers and school principals from seven secondary schools. The schools are distinguished by their distinctive features in the Turkish education system, which stands out with its bureaucratic character. The findings indicate that the accountability relationship between the upper hierarchical units of the country’s education system and the schools is perceived to be quite weak or even uncertain in terms of academic achievement. The educators seem to think that there is no expectation of achievement and they rigorously criticize existing expectations. They claim that because their achievement status is not monitored, they do not encounter any intervention or sanction in cases of failure. The findings provide a critical perspective of the costs of bureaucratic accountability as well as a query on the ideal type of bureaucracy in practice.

中文翻译：

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从学术成就的角度看待官僚问责制

本研究旨在了解一组中学教师和校长对学术成就在官僚问责结构中的地位的看法。研究重点是，从教育者的角度来看，国家教育部在多大程度上要求他们和他们的学校对学业成绩负责。这些数据来自对来自七所中学的 30 名教师和校长的半结构化访谈。这些学校以其在土耳其教育系统中的鲜明特色而著称，该系统以其官僚主义的特点脱颖而出。调查结果表明，就学业成绩而言，国家教育系统的上层单位与学校之间的问责关系被认为非常薄弱甚至不确定。教育者似乎认为没有成就的期望，他们严厉批评现有的期望。他们声称，由于他们的成就状态不受监控，因此他们在失败的情况下不会受到任何干预或制裁。研究结果提供了对官僚问责制成本的批判性观点，并对实践中的理想官僚制类型提出了质疑。在失败的情况下，他们不会受到任何干预或制裁。研究结果提供了对官僚问责制成本的批判性观点，并对实践中的理想官僚制类型提出了质疑。在失败的情况下，他们不会受到任何干预或制裁。研究结果提供了对官僚问责制成本的批判性观点，并对实践中的理想官僚制类型提出了质疑。