| Title: |
Unlocking the Potential of Middle-Tier Education Governance for Scaling Impact in Low- and Middle-Income Countries |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Brad Olsen; Molly Curtiss Wyss; Aleksandr Ivanov, Contributor; Esthery Kunkwenzu, Contributor; Manuel Sánchez Masferrer, Contributor; Ken Ndala, Contributor; Abijit Sharma, Contributor; Brookings Institution, Center for Universal Education |
| Source: |
Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution. 2025. |
| Availability: |
Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution. 1775 Massachusettes Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-797-6048; Fax: 202-797-2970; e-mail: cue@brookings.edu; Web site: http://www.brookings.edu/about/centers/universal-education |
| Peer Reviewed: |
N |
| Page Count: |
42 |
| Publication Date: |
2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: |
Global Partnership for Education (GPE); International Development Research Centre (IDRC) (Canada) |
| Document Type: |
Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: |
Educational Administration; Governance; Government School Relationship; Developing Nations; Foreign Countries; Delivery Systems; Administrative Organization; Educational Innovation; Educational Policy; Policy Formation; Stakeholders; Educational Improvement |
| Geographic Terms: |
El Salvador; Kyrgyzstan; Malawi; Nepal |
| Abstract: |
The middle tier of governance in education systems--that system level between central government and schools--is a critical but often overlooked lever for improving education in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In theory, the middle tier serves as a bridge between the policymaking of the central level and implementation at the school level, supporting communication, contextualization, and cooperation between these system levels. If harnessed well, a strong middle tier can imbue innovation design and implementation with local knowledge to tailor delivery, sustain impact through data use and teacher support, and secure local commitment for sustained ownership. However, in practice, this potential often remains untapped, with mid-level actors largely relegated to compliance, documentation, and data collection tasks. Over the last 14 months, our Research on Scaling the Impact of Innovations in Education (ROSIE) project at the Center for Universal Education (part of the Global Partnership for Education's Knowledge and Innovation Exchange) studied this topic, looking specifically at the role of mid-level actors in decentralized systems with respect to identifying, contextualizing, and scaling education innovations for impact. [This project is part of and supported by the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX), a partnership between the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).] |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2026 |
| Accession Number: |
ED678573 |
| Database: |
ERIC |