ERIC Number: EJ1485769
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Oct
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0038-0407
EISSN: EISSN-1939-8573
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Educational Change through Bureaucratic Effectiveness: The Role of Mid-Level Networks
Sociology of Education, v98 n4 p337-357 2025
Studies of networks for educational change often focus on webs of teachers, school leaders, policymakers, and philanthropists, with little attention to staff at the middle level, who arguably have immense potential to effect change. This article explores an initiative for educational change through mid-level staff using the case of a nonprofit that places its members in large, public education bureaucracies in a developing country. I explore a mechanism for how the strategic patchwork of staff can support change through improved bureaucracy. First, staff are intentionally placed, reputationally distinct, and purposely connected. Second, these individuals influence bureaucratic effectiveness through coordinated policies, reduced organizational friction, and informal information sharing. Third, the improved coordination supports policy creation, program implementation, and candid evaluation of processes on the ground. Integrating studies of education, state bureaucracy, and civil society, I show the utility in investigating novel forms of educational change that engage rather than circumvent traditional education bureaucracies.
Descriptors: Educational Change, Middle Management, Educational Administration, Developing Nations, Administrative Organization, Foreign Countries, Nonprofit Organizations, Public Education
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Philippines
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; 2Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines

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