Education Systems as Social Bureaucracies: Understanding Implementation at Scale in Sub-Saharan Africa

• In Event: Reforming Education at Scale: Bureaucratic Structures, Policy Ambitions, and Systemic Constraints in Comparative Perspective

Proposal

The challenge of scaling foundational learning interventions lies not in identifying what works, but in understanding how education systems themselves enable or obstruct change.
While existing research and guidelines identify specific foundational learning interventions that can positively impact student learning outcomes (GEEAP 2023), there remains a significant gap in understanding how to scale these interventions within complex education systems effectively. Most current approaches tend to focus on individual teachers, emphasizing training, support, and pedagogical improvements at the classroom level. However, this narrow focus often fails to account for the broader systemic factors that influence teacher behavior and student achievement.
A significant limitation in the field is the lack of a comprehensive definition of what constitutes an education system and how its structural and cultural features shape the behaviors of individuals and groups within it. Without a clear understanding of these systemic dynamics, efforts to improve education at scale may be less effective or unsustainable.
We define a social bureaucracy as a network of formal rules, policies, and procedures intertwined with informal social interactions, networks, and norms. These two forces—bureaucratic and social—work together to regulate teacher behavior. While they provide accountability and structure, they also frequently generate unintended barriers, resulting in undesired teacher behavior and limiting the focus on pupil learning.
Using mixed-methods research from Nigeria (2023, 2024) and Tanzania (2022), the presenters explore how bureaucratic structures and social networks within education systems function and how they impact teacher decision-making and classroom practices. The findings indicate that current education systems often prioritize administrative and hierarchical goals that shift teachers’ focus away from pupil learning, undermining the effective use of instructional time and diminishing the quality time on task.
By redefining education systems as social bureaucracies, this paper offers a framework for designing interventions that move beyond individual teacher training to systemic strategies that align bureaucratic incentives, strengthen social networks, and sustain reforms at scale. This reframing opens new pathways for scaling foundational learning across Sub-Saharan Africa. It provides actionable guidance for policymakers and practitioners working at the intersection of system reform and classroom practice.”

Data sources:
Tanzania (2022) – sequential quantitative-qualitative explanatory research study “how teachers respond to change”
USAID Nigeria LEARN to Read – Adamawa Baseline (2023) – quantitative.
USAID Nigeria LEARN to Read – Sokoto and Bauchi Midterm (2024) – quantitative.

Authors

• Simon King, NewGlobe Education

• Leesa Kaplan, N/A