The current concept of accountability -- defined to emphasize educational results, the allocation of responsibility for results, and the consequences to those held responsible -- represents a powerful force for positive educational change. It may yet produce a fundamental reconstruction of public education. (Author/JN)

Identifies major problem areas of liability as related to educational setting, determines specific liability questions for these problem areas, and specifies teachers' knowledge of these liability questions. The problem areas studied were teachers' supervisory responsibilities, teachers' duties when using special material and equipment, corporal…

Few claims for negligence or misrepresentation against higher education have been sustained, but several important cases in lower education have provided a framework for future litigation. It is noted that the students ultimately lost, but educators should not be lulled. The development of a new tort such as educational malpractice takes years.…

The need to consider teaching evaluation criteria within the social structural and normative background within which college teaching takes place is discussed, along with the need to consider the substantive content of the criteria. In research-oriented American universities many feel that one cannot be promoted for teaching because institutional…

The first student consumer lawsuit against a university tried to a conclusion is examined in terms of the court proceedings. Focus is on the legal philosophies presented by both sides and the legal and educational underpinnings by the judge that influenced him not to allow the case to go to the jury and allowed him to award a directed verdict to…

Educational accountability is defined as "a condition of being accountable for the results . . . achieved in the elementary and secondary schools." Goals are basic to the accountability process. The effectiveness and efficiency of education are basically the responsibility of educators. The manner through which human and material resources are…

Student-customers' demands and taxpayer-patrons' directives press for postsecondary education for all. Traditional, "new," and adult students all want a curriculum relevant to their own needs, in a setting of physical flexibility that guarantees access, and it is up to trustees to respond. (Editor/LBH)

School boards and other collectives have responsibilities for which they are accountable. If a collective group or school board is charged with irresponsibility, it may try to exonerate itself by offering an excuse. Acts by school boards and individual educational authorities must be considered carefully before responsibility can be determined.…

Students will learn more if local school boards set priorities, use test scores sensibly, and hold educators accountable. (Author)

The book inquires into social purposes of schools and the translation of these purposes into educational goals, the functions of schools, and the aims of education. The author advances the thesis that schools are educational institutions. Chapter 2 discusses how social purposes have emerged in light of current realities, and distinguishes between…

The American Federation of Teachers' basic concept of testing includes the idea that public education remains accountable to the public for its actions and that standardized tests are one measure of educational performance. (Author/CM)

This paper argues that, if teachers are to be held accountable for instructional quality, then the educational establishment must be held accountable for providing teachers with relevant knowledge and the feasible professional tools derived from that knowledge. Suggestions are offered for developing this accountability, such as field testing…

Increasing demands for professional accountability in education, coupled with a growing tendency in the American public to seek redress through the courts, have given rise to the educational malpractice suit, alleging that students have failed to learn because schools have been negligent in their duty to educate. This chapter provides guidelines…

Universities can play an important role in advancing equality of education since they wield influence over the process of learning itself, over institutions and attitudes, and they play an important role in determining the status and life chances of individuals. In view of the fact that there is a definite and positive relation between education…