ABSTRACT

The global diffusion of outcome-based accountability in education is contested, with accounts of universal convergence being challenged by perspectives emphasising heterogeneity across different national or local contexts. This study uses data from PISA to explore, firstly, the spatial and temporal diffusion of accountability across OECD countries, and secondly, whether accountability is implemented as a single coherent regime. Using cluster analysis techniques, we find that most countries fall into a ‘Thick’ accountability regime, with widespread use of most forms of accountability tools. However, this regime is not fully coherent, with some countries relying more on horizontal, and others on vertical, forms of accountability. A sizeable minority of countries fall into a ‘Thin’ regime, in which most accountability tools are largely absent. We also find indications of convergence across countries over time. We conclude that while accountability in education is indeed widespread, and increasingly so, it is not a universally dominant regime.

摘要

教育中基于结果的问责制的全球传播受到质疑，普遍趋同的说法受到强调不同国家或地方背景下异质性的观点的挑战。本研究使用来自 PISA 的数据，首先探讨了经合组织国家问责制的空间和时间扩散，其次，问责制是否作为单一的连贯制度实施。使用聚类分析技术，我们发现大多数国家都陷入了“厚”问责制度，广泛使用了大多数形式的问责工具。然而，这一制度并不完全一致，一些国家更多地依赖横向问责制，而另一些则更依赖纵向问责制。相当多的少数国家陷入了“瘦”制度，其中大部分问责工具基本上不存在。我们还发现随着时间的推移，各国之间出现趋同的迹象。我们得出的结论是，虽然教育问责制确实很普遍，而且越来越普遍，但它并不是普遍支配的制度。