Study Of The Federal Government's Role In The Changing Accountability Of Elementary Education In The United States

Quality is the lifeline of education,and continuous improvement of education quality is the eternal theme of education development.Establishing a perfect education accountability system is an effective means to ensure the quality of education,and is also a key issue that stakeholders pay close attention to.The United States is a decentralized country,and according to the federal constitution,education belongs to the public affairs of state and local governments,and the federal government does not directly interfere with local education affairs except for the authorization of Congress,and the management of elementary education belongs to each state,which allocates education funds and sets education standards.The federal government gradually became more dominant in the development of the U.S.elementary education accountability system after the 1950 s.This study will provide useful references for the reform and development of elementary education in China by analyzing the core elements and internal logic of the changes in the U.S.elementary education accountability system.This study uses the literature research method as the main research method,based on the analysis framework of the historical institutionalism theory of institutional change,and explores the relationship between "environmental structure","institutional complex",and "actors" in the change of the U.S.elementary education accountability system.In this study,we explore the interaction between the"environmental structure," "institutional complex," and "actors" in the change of elementary education accountability in the United States,and analyze the changes of the "concept," "interest," and "system" in the institutional complex at different historical stages."The tensions and contradictions arising from the changes in the three core elements of the institutional complex are analyzed.Taking the role of the federal government as an entry point,this paper provides a new perspective to comprehensively understand the evolutionary logic of the change in the accountability of elementary education in the United States.This paper applies the historical institutionalism method of classifying stages of institutional change based on key points of historical development to divide the history of elementary education accountability change in the United States into four stages,namely,the nascent period of elementary education accountability system(before World War II),the initial period of elementary education accountability system development(after World War II to the 1980s),the flourishing period of elementary education accountability system development(1980s The first period of the accountability system for elementary education(post-World War II to the 1980s),the period of the development of the accountability system for elementary education(1980s to the end of the 20 th century),and the period of the improvement of the accountability system for elementary education(since the 21 st century).By comprehensively and systematically reviewing the evolution and internal logic of the U.S.elementary education accountability system,we explore the changing role of the federal government in it.First,from the perspective of historical changes,the U.S.elementary education accountability system has a complex history of changes and multiple changes.The U.S.elementary education accountability system has gone through four historical stages,and its evolution has shown a continuous and different process of institutional change,such as institutional germination,institutional generation,institutional development,and institutional improvement.Second,from the perspective of conceptual change,the change of the U.S.elementary education accountability system follows the complex logic of "structural environment,actors,and institutional complex",and the interaction among these three has a structural impact on the U.S.elementary education accountability system.Third,the tension between the three core elements of "interest," "philosophy," and "system" is the cohesive force driving the change of the U.S.elementary education accountability system.As an actor in the institutional change,the federal government plays an important role in the U.S.elementary education accountability activities.This study argues that,first,in terms of historical change,the reasons why the federal government can become the subject of accountability in U.S.elementary education include the rationality of its dominant policy philosophy,the opportunities presented by the environment,and the federal government's ability to act.Second,in terms of role practice,the federal government has played three roles: practitioner of accountability philosophy,promoter of standards-based accountability,and exerciser of radical power.Finally,it is explored that the federal government's role is bounded in the course of the evolution of the elementary education accountability system.