The educational context does not require accountability but it surely benefits from it. Accountability refers to people in relationships who share with one another and encourage or correct one another in order to maintain or achieve a certain goal (Andreas 2012). In short, co-accountability means keeping one another in check. Successful implementation of this practice stems from a touchstone principle in addition to a plan. These also relate to the touchstones I proposes earlier in the course.
The touchstone I propose for co-accountability is honest sharing. That is, educators need to honestly share the appropriate information with their confidant, willingly revealing their thoughts and feelings about certain practices or events. Furthermore, co-accountability runs both ways; it is not a one-way street. All participants must share and share honestly, rather than one person disclosing while others remain mute. The key lies in the term itself, “Co-” accountability. How might we build a culture of co-accountability?
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Foremost, we need a context of safety. Sharron Norman reveals that threatening environments hamper individuals from disclosing sensitive information. Moreover, if they distrust their fellows, they will not share and may not respect the information that others offer. Trustworthy and stable leadership contributes to a safe culture, someone or a group that models co-accountability, encourages it, and assures the population that their culture is indeed a safe culture for practicing accountability.
My initial touchstones, verbal motivation and a collaborative approach, relate directly to a culture of co-accountability. As shown above, accountability rests upon vocalizing your thoughts and feelings with others, as well as hearing from them. Thus it its not only verbal and without community; nor is it silent but in community. Co-accountability is both verbal and collaborative, traits that also require modeling, as argued by Perkins (1986), supporting my plans for implementation.
- Andreas, S. (2012). Preparing Teachers and Developing School Leaders for the 21st Century Lessons from Around the World. Paris: OECD Publishing
- Norman, Sharron. The Human Face of Social Reform.
- Perkins, D. (1986). Thinking frames. Educational Leadership, 43(8), 4
