Best Practices

Accountability and Program Improvement

Conducted by: Lisa Winstead

Abstract
Accountability has affected the traditional role of teachers not only in grades K-12 but it may also affect the role of the professor in higher education. The research reveals that teachers focus primarily on language arts and mathematics, especially in grades K-6. During these formative years, students receive intensive instruction in these domains, but social studies and science are neglected. In light of professional accountability programs promoted by the No Child Left Behind Act, students generally receive an intensive curriculum that provides little in the way of civic or scientific understanding. What gets left out of the curriculum in the early grades may have an effect on the learning styles and behavior of students in higher education. What are some of the potential challenges for professors in higher education? Does standards-based learning promote the level of thinking that is needed for success in higher education? How will professors meet the needs of these students? Participants will have an opportunity to discuss the implications of changing pedagogical and assessment practices as well as their effects on higher education.

Target Audience
College and University faculty interested in (1) understanding how professional school programs that follow accountability guidelines affect student learning and instruction at the K-12 level; and, (2) the potential impact of such practices on higher education.

Learning Outcomes
1. Review and gain an understanding of professional programs (accountability practices) in grades K-12.
2. Review a study concerning educator perceptions and experiences in the K-12 realm, and how these standardized teaching practices narrow curricular foci to primarily language arts and mathematics and excluding, to a great extent, social studies and science.
3. Implications for student learning and instruction within the context of accountability.
4. Discussion of implications for student learning behavior in higher education. Participants provide their expertise and input.
5. Summarize insights about accountability in grades K-12 and its effects on higher educational learning communities.

Biography
Dr. Lisa Winstead is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Elementary and Bilingual Education at California State University, Fullerton. She recently received a grant to conduct research on accountability and has submitted an article concerning its impact on social studies. She also conducts research about immigrant children and recently presented her findings at the Children’s Identity and Citizenship Education conference sponsored by the European Commission on Education in Montpellier, France.