Theorizing the Missing Middle in Education Governance: Mid-Level Agencies’ Role in Coherence and Change

• In Event: Sociology of Education Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 27. Students, Teachers, and Organizations in Conversation

Abstract

Sociological studies of education governance tend to emphasize national and state actors or
dynamics in districts and schools, overlooking mid-level education agencies that translate policy,
coordinate shared services, link organizations, and regulate schools. Drawing on the case of
California’s County Offices of Education—positioned between the state education department
and over a thousand school districts—this article examines how mid-level agencies support
instructional coherence and systems-level changes. We show that these agencies are
structured by two intersecting dimensions: their intermediary roles (top-down implementation vs.
bottom-up improvement) and their hybrid logics (service provision vs. state oversight). However,
their capacity to promote coherence and change relies on factors like their ability to match
district needs, organizational capacity, and spatial and relational proximity to districts and
schools. By identifying how the “mid-level” shapes school improvement, we build upon current
theories of education governance, intermediary organizations, and the assumed loose coupling
between formal policy and instructional practice.

Authors

• Alan Gao, Princeton University

• Jose Eos Trinidad, University of California-Berkeley