An Investigation of the Values and Attitudes of Teachers Toward Teacher Accountability in China and Canada

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study of teacher accountability between teachers in China and Canada. The investigation examined data using cultural and social differences toward accountability as a guide. A questionnaire developed was used to measure teacher dispositions toward internal (professional) accountability and external (bureaucratic) accountability and to determine if there were differences between teachers in the two countries, China and Canada. T-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and other measures of central tendencies were used to analyze data in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20. Canadian teacher scores (n = 169) for external accountability (M = 4.55; SD = 0.44) were higher than teacher scores for internal accountability (M = 3.81; SD = 0.60). No differences between urban and rural areas were observed among Canadian teachers. Results showed that the means of external accountability (M = 4.13; SD = 0.59) were higher than those of internal accountability (M = 3.59; SD = 0.50) among Chinese teachers (n = 284). Canadian teacher scores were higher than Chinese teacher on both measures; the results for both external and internal accountability were found to be statistically significant. The differences suggest that further study and analyses are necessary to determine the cultural and educational implications of these differences.