In 2005 Zimbabwe’s education system plummeted from being one of the best in the Sub-Saharan region to one hovering on the verge of total collapse. Today, as Zimbabwe continues to gradually recover from a sharp economic downturn and a severe humanitarian crisis, both civil society and government are demanding accountability from teachers. Stakeholders in education are demanding clearly designated channels through which the public voice can be heard. Simultaneously government’s responsiveness to public opinion and demands are increasingly becoming more and more important (World Bank, 2008: xii). The issue of accountability in education has undoubtedly gained considerable prominence in Zimbabwe. Yet, it is not completely clear what the concept “accountability” comprises in the local context and whether the meaning attached to the concept in Zimbabwe corresponds with international opinion on the matter. Consequently, finding clarity in this regard developed into the main objective of our study. In addition we set our sights on establishing what the relationships are between decentralisation in education and accountability, individualist and collectivist perspectives on accountability, and teachers’ preferences related to external and internal accountability. Our analysis of data shows that Zimbabwean teachers scored relatively high on internal accountability (Mean 4.84, SD .47), collectivism (Mean 4.21, SD .65) and external accountability (Mean 4.12, SD .53) and the lowest on individual accountability (Mean 3.41, SD .93). If one takes into account how closely the South African (SA) education system resembles that of Zimbabwe in, for example, historical development, structure and achievements, it is hardly surprising that the means of quite a number of items are not significantly different from each other (p < .05 Scheffe). Means that do significantly differ between these countries are those for school support, individualism and internal accountability. Zimbabwe’s teacher score for internal accountability proved to be the highest (with SA in the second place) while the score for external accountability tied SA in the first place. Zimbabwe scored the lowest of the four countries under discussion for collectivism and individualism. Zimbabwean teachers appear to attach great value to uncertainty avoidance (Means 3.73, SD .85), since the score for this item was also the highest among the four countries involved. This result can possibly be linked to the mass exodus of teachers from Zimbabwe during the course of the previous decade as a result of political and economic instability in the country (cf. Kanyongo 2005).

Kanyongo, G. Y. (2005). Zimbabwe’s public education system reforms: Successes and challenges. International Education Journal, 6(1), 65-74. World Bank Working Paper Number 127. (2008). Governance, Management, and Accountability in Secondary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. African Region Human Development Series. Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.