نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسنده
دانشیار دانشگاه شهید بهشتی، تهران. ایران.
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسنده [English]
The core issue addressed in this article is whether accountability in the higher education system should be regarded as a virtue or as a duty. If the aim is to utilize accountability to enhance the quality of education, which approach should frame our discourse on accountability in higher education? Fundamentally, which of these two paradigms—the deontological (duty-based) or the aretaic (virtue-based)—should govern higher education and, consequently, the discourse of accountability within it? This article attempts to clarify the concept of accountability and compare these two approaches, explaining how virtue-oriented accountability differs from duty-oriented accountability. The central idea developed here is that, in contemporary higher education, the prevailing perspective on accountability appears to be predominantly deontological. However, the virtue-based approach—despite certain weaknesses in terms of enforceability—proves to be more effective and faces fewer challenges. The findings indicate that accountability, at least at the elite levels of the higher education system, signifies the agent's sensitivity toward character virtues that cannot be captured by laws and regulations. Therefore, it is preferable to understand accountability—at least at certain levels—as a value and a virtue rather than as a mere obligation. This perspective can prevent accountability from being reduced to a bureaucratic, administrative, and organizational encounter, caught in the crossfire of directive-driven logic and a managerial, bureaucratic outlook.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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