ABSTRACT
In recent years the notion of accountability in relation to education has become more prominent (Sockett, 1980; Becher et al., 1981; Lacey and Lawton, 1981). It is not so much that accountability is a new idea, since those involved in education have always been accountable to someone, but rather that the nature and scope of accountability are now given more weight than previously. Of all the aspects of their work for which teachers are held to be accountable, perhaps none is likely to give rise to more searching questions and strong feelings than innovation.
