ABSTRACT
Globally, trends towards standardisation, measurement and accountability in education are leading to what has been described as ‘governing by numbers’. This move toward generating and responding to quantified data is usually linked to neoliberal approaches that can ‘proletarianise’ teachers’ work and reorient the curriculum towards a narrow diet of basic skills. This chapter reports on the efforts of leaders and teachers in a network of Australian schools, who worked alongside university researchers over three years to consider more ethical approaches to using data associated with such accountability policies. Together, the partners explored how such data might be used as a catalyst for change that focuses on locally determined priorities. Working across schools and in partnership with university researchers provided space for teachers and school leaders to engage in critical reflection, focussed around ethical leadership and equity. Despite the dangers of large-scale data linked to accountability, these educators were seen to take back at least some control of their professionalism by resisting the ‘terrors’ of performativity through critical collaborative inquiry. The chapter leads to suggestions as to how accountability policies might be reformed in ways that would encourage and reward principles such as collegiality and collaboration, teacher professionalism, and critical reflection.
