Authors:Dr. Mitanjali Sahoo and Dr. Rinki
Journal: Education plus, A Peer Reviewed International Journal of Education and Humanities (UGC listed journal)
Volume: 9; Issue: 8
Pages: 158-164
ISSN: 2277-2405
Publication Date: January 2018

Abstract

A teacher plays an important role in the whole teaching learning process. Accountability of teachers is very essential for bringing quality in the education system. The present study aims at exploring the accountability of elementary school teachers in relation to their gender, teaching experience and marital status variation and the problems faced by the teachers in their accountability. 100 elementary school teachers of Gaya city were selected conveniently for the study. From among them 30 teachers were interviewed for exploring their problems in their accountability. A self-developed teacher’s accountability scale and a semi-structured interview schedule were used for the study. Female teachers, teachers having less than 10 years of teaching experience and unmarried teachers were found to have more accountability. They faced problems with regard to lack of classrooms, irregularity of students, lack of resources, more engagement in activities other than teaching etc. Some suggestions were given for ensuring better accountability of teachers. The study will be helpful for the teachers, administrators and the government for ensuring better accountability of teachers.

Keywords

Accountability, Teachers, Elementary school

Introduction

A teacher occupies a very important place in the whole teaching learning and evaluation process and acts as a catalyst to bring changes in the education system. Teacher is the medium through which the objectives of education can be achieved. The role of the teacher is very important for bringing positive changes in individuals and society. Like other professions, teaching as a profession has its own guidelines, principles, morality and accountability which a teacher has to follow while dealing with the stakeholders like students, parents, administrators and community people. Accountability is one of the most important aspects of teaching profession. Accountability has been defined as the liability for results obtained through the responsible exercise of delegated authority (Good 1959). Accountability of teachers is viewed as the responsibility for maintaining trust to every student as assigned to them in a specific organisation. National Policy on Education-1986 has stressed on the accountability of teachers towards students, parents, community and their own profession. Accountability implies the responsibilities of teachers for maintaining quality and standards and also for promotion of academic excellence. Self-evaluation is the best method of assessment of accountability of teachers (Mohanty 2003). An accountable teacher seems to shoulder the duties and responsibilities idealistically to the institutions that they are serving and to the student community and then through the institution and the students, tries to serve the society at large with the aim of doing good with their good performances (Ignacimuthu 2006). The teacher is responsible to the students for their holistic development, optimal learning and achievement of their goals. Apart from classroom teaching, a teacher should be concerned about the community development, public relation, parent counselling, inculcation of human values like truth, beauty, goodness, love, equality, honesty, punctuality, regularity etc. A teacher is also accountable towards the nation and should have the required knowledge in understanding the different issues and problems of the nation and in solving these problems. Professionally accountable teachers are dedicated, committed, have patience, are optimistic in outlook and are aware about their roles and responsibilities (Kanika, 2012). Teachers should be committed in providing quality programs and adopting strategies that will make them more accountable and effective in their teaching. Teachers have to be strategical in assessing their own learning needs, developing annual professional growth plans, addressing critical issues, designing curriculum and mentoring peers (Roika,2012). Effective teachers possess relevant competence and use the competence properly to attain their objectives. Accountability and teaching efficiency depends largely on some personal and demographic variables like gender, marital status, teaching experience, locality, teaching competency, attitude etc. Srivastava (1989) found a sense of accountability among teachers in relation to their gender, experience and training variation. Chahar(2005) reported higher level of teaching competencies of female teachers than the male teachers at the primary school level. Syeeda (2007) found no significant differences in the teaching competencies of the primary school teachers in relation to their teaching experience, locality and type of management variation. Male teachers were found to have better teaching competencies than the female teachers. Taljera (2008) in a study on academic accountability of teacher educators revealed that age, gender and teaching experience differences contribute significantly in the academic accountability of teacher educators. Female, more experienced and more aged teacher educators were found to have greater accountability to the academic aspects. Muchhal and Chand (2010) found the female teachers to be more accountable and more satisfied towards their job than their male counterparts. Roika(2012) revealed that female teachers, less experienced teachers, unmarried teachers and private school teachers are more accountable than their counterparts. With the unstable home and society conditions, the composition of classrooms has become more complex with different academic, behavioural, social, emotional and personal problems of the students. There is an increased sense of pressures on teachers from the society, parents and administrators. They have to manage resources, curricular and co-curricular activities, examination, manage time, resolve conflicts etc which requires specific skills and abilities. Teachers have a great responsibility in shaping the behaviour of the students not only through their teaching but also by their own accountability and typical way of living. But in the present era, most of the teaches do not enter the profession by choice but they enter by chance. Hence, they do not think teaching as their career. A majority of teachers are influenced by their family circumstances, attraction of holidays and vacation, earning money through private tuition, taking less responsibility and a secure government job. They are less concerned about their own values of life and the values of their students. These problems are very pertinent in the government schools at the elementary level in India and most specifically in the government schools of Bihar. Most of the students at the elementary level are not able to read and write correctly even in their mother tongue and are far behind in achieving the minimum levels of learning as expected for them. In view of the deplorable condition in the learning outcome of the students, high dropout rate and the backward education system in Bihar, there has been a felt need to bring major reforms in the education specifically at the elementary school level. This can only be possible by preparing highly committed and efficient teachers. An attempt has been made through this study to explore the accountability of the Elementary school teachers, to identify the problems faced by them and to provide suggestions for promoting accountability of the teacher.

Recommended citation

Sahoo, M., & Rinki. (2018). Accountability of elementary school teachers. Education Plus: A Peer Reviewed International Journal of Education and Humanities, 9(8), 158-164. ISSN 2277-2405.