An Evaluation of the Influence of Accountability Regimes on the Curriculum Policy-Practice Nexus at Higher Education in Ireland

Literature contends that external pressures, particularly neoliberal agendas have strengthened the role of accountability in education policy internationally, through relentless measurement and by the introduction of intense benchmarking, ranking and testing regimes. Despite contestations about its effectiveness in achieving the intended goals in education, literature criticising accountability deficits has mainly focused on descriptive arguments. This study provides conceptual and empirical means to investigate the impact of accountability mechanisms applied to the curriculum policy implementation process at various sites of enactment (supra, macro, meso, micro) at higher education in Ireland from a socio-political perspective. A pragma