EDUCATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY POLICY RESEARCH - METHODOLOGY AND EPISTEMOLOGY

This article shows that accountability policy research has tended to u se systems theory, an objectivist view of social reality and logical e mpiricism to identify performance indicators of learning. It makes the care that policy knowledge production should permit a more holistic a nd causally interdependent view of teaching, learning and leadership s ervices. it argues that the accepting of responsibility in education o bliges leaders to provide reasonable and coherent forms of accountabil ity in a context of formative evaluation educative reporting relations hips, and politically sensitive planning. It then offers a methodology whereby accountability policies can be developed in a demonstrably ed ucative manner. This methodology reflects a consequentialist moral the ory argues for the reconciliation of stakeholder perspectives through their active engagement, and applies a nonfoundationalist account of k nowledge production.