Abstract

AFONSO, Almerindo Janela. Retreat into scientism, paradoxes of transparency, and corruption in education. Educ. Pesqui. [online]. 2015, vol.41, n.spe, pp.1313-1326. ISSN 1678-4634.  https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-9702201508145423.

One symptom of “indolent reason” (SANTOS, 2006) is the retreat into scientism, which is especially marked in the increasingly hegemonic policies surrounding assessment, reporting and accountability. As such, one of the aims of this paper is to call into question this apparent consensus on scientism (a supposedly trans-ideological consensus), and briefly explore what we define as the paradoxes of transparency. These paradoxes are found to reveal the existence of tensions and contradictions concerning a central aspect of current political and educational discourse. In doing so, the article seeks to continue a line of study which has aimed to emphasize the significance of the need for a more complex, and theoretically and conceptually rigorous understanding of accountability in education. Finally, in an attempt to pave the way for further discussion and analysis, attention is drawn to corruption in education, the complex nature of which remains insufficiently understood and studied, notably in terms of its relationship with the problems of transparency and accountability. It is acknowledged that practices of corruption within education are, in many situations, (paradoxically) caused by the need to answer to a system of governance based on numbers, league tables, and (supposed) truths, completely nullifying legitimate expectations about the transparency of educational processes and policy decisions.

Keywords : Accountability; Transparency; Corruption in education.

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