Abstract

The Chilean education system has intensified its focus on accountability, incorporating a new initiative -school complaint reports- aspart of a new inspectorate for the education sector, the Superintendencia de Educación. This study seeks to understand the work of the inspectors working for this new government body By preparing a qualitative design of a single case study, in-depth interviews were carried out with all of the inspectors working for a Superintendencia’s regional office. The findings reveal tension between the work of inspecting and assessing, calling into question the inspectors’ role and professional performance. This tension is dissipated through negotiation strategies within the regional inspectorate and with the schools. School community policies analyzed through the prism of accountability produce punitive atmospheres and initiatives as ways of improving a harmonious environment within schools.