IMPLICATIONS OF ACCOUNTABILITY ON LEARNER PERFORMANCE IN BOTSWANA – AN INSPECTION CASE STUDY OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN KGATLENG

Abstract

Approaches to accountability such as school inspection and school self-evaluation are used to a limited extent in Botswana’s education system. In this regard, our knowledge base regarding the impact of inspection is limited. By drawing on the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) framework, which is a British model of inspection (Park, 2013), this paper argues that instructional leaders and curriculum drivers should account for learner performance. Documented inspection reports for 2014 for fourteen (14) primary schools in Kgatleng were studied in as much as they provided baseline data for the study. Data was collected through interviews, lesson observations and documentary analysis. The results show that all the 14 schools inspected were ineffective in their instructional supervision and pedagogical approaches thus compromising on assessment and learner achievement standards. The paper concludes that holding schools responsible for their results has a positive impact on both the learner and overall school performance. Thus, every process needs to be audited; thereof school inspections need to be intensified to monitor, track and raise performance standards.