Evaluative relationships: teacher accountability and professional culture

ABSTRACT

Research on recently adopted methods for teacher evaluation are largely focused on issues of validity and pay less attention to the consequences of implementation for the everyday practices of teaching and learning in schools. This paper draws on an ethnographic case-study to argue that the joint tasks demanded by neoliberal teacher evaluation policies structure interactions among teachers and between teachers and administrators in ways that erode professional culture. Implications for policymakers, school leaders, and teachers are considered.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher evaluation
• policy implementation
• professional culture
• accountability
• value-added measures
• ethnography

Acknowledgments

This article is based on research that was made possible in part by financial assistance from the Ruth Landes Memorial Research Fund, a program of the Reed Foundation. Thank you to Dr. Sofía Chapparo and to the reviewers for the 2017 Sociology of Education Association conference for their thoughtful feedback on earlier versions of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel Garver

Rachel Garver is an assistant professor of Educational Leadership at Montclair State University. Her research examines the implementation of equity-oriented policies by teachers and administrators, school discipline and safety practices, and the preparation of educational leaders committed to social justice.