This paper analyzes the impact of the idea of accountability on education. It considers the kind of relationships that are promoted or produced by the culture of accountability, both in order to understand what kind of relationships are made possible and to understand what kind of relationships are made difficult, or even impossible, as a result…

The social role of schooling is to equip students with the tools that will enable them to control their own destiny. How this role can be attained is explored through discussion of the current social role of schooling, our conception of democracy, and recent criticism of public schooling. (DF)