Accountability as a Mechanism towards Professionalizing Teaching in Higher Education

Overview & Synopsis

In the sphere of higher education (HE) globally the tensions between academic autonomy and accountability, and the research vs teaching debate have been ongoing for decades. Zumeta (2011, p. 133) notes one of the reasons for such tensions to be the view of accountability as a social construct, resulting in its definition varying from context to context and time to time. While professionalism in the higher education context is closely associated to research status of academics, the question addressed in this paper is whether accountability in teaching-related work, if clearly defined and practiced, can be used as mechanism towards professionalizing higher education teaching. The findings of the qualitative study clearly indicate a correlation between the characteristics of teaching-related accountability and professionalism in higher education, underscoring the notion that an accountable and excellent higher education teacher should be able to rise to the coveted position of a professor.