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Research in the context of decentralization has primarily focused on the role of school-based actors in improving educational outcomes for students in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The role of the "middle tier," such as subnational staff at the regional or district levels of educational leadership within the education bureaucracy, has not been systematically understood. We conduct a rigorous review of academic and gray literature in the English language and find that (1) research on the middle tier is limited in the discourse on education reform in LMICs; (2) in the available research, there is tension in the theoretical conceptualization and the practices of the middle tier between different fields of study and research methods; (3) we know even less about whether and how the middle tier supports improvements in student learning. Our article calls on researchers to investigate how the middle tier can strengthen education service delivery in LMICs.

Parents who experience food insecurity face not only uncertainty in obtaining food, but an invisible emotional burden, one that can potentially influence both their parenting behaviors and ultimately, their children. In our study, we investigated adult food insecurity’s link to parents’ aggravation and whether that aggravation influenced their children’s behaviors. Results, based on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 using first-difference regression, showed that parents (n=7820) of first graders who became food insecure experienced heightened parenting aggravation (0.525; p < .01). Our mediation analysis on a matched sample of food secure (n=1600) and insecure parents (n=470) revealed that adult food insecurity was not directly associated with children’s behaviors; rather, it was indirectly related to lowered attentional focus (-0.062; p

Background: Subnational actors and organizations are crucial mediators of policy implementation due to their proximity to schools. However, in low- and middle-income country contexts, little is known about their management practices and factors that shape the adoption of these practices to improve education delivery. Purpose: We explore the management context of five District Education Directorates in Ghana, and the factors that enable or constrain them to plan and implement policy. Participants: Forty-three interviews and focus groups with regional and district education officials, district political actors, and basic education school headteachers and teachers. Research Design: A qualitative study of semistructured interviews, focus groups, and education policy and planning documents. Analysis: To understand how policy implementation happens within complex, multitiered bureaucracies, our theoretical framework uses four management functions described in Williams et al. (2021) to explore two different paradigms of how to change public bureaucracies: target setting and prioritization; measurement and monitoring; accountability and incentives; and problem-solving. We coded and analyzed our data based on this framework and developed district-wide narrative memos to synthesize the findings. Findings: We identify three areas of (mis)alignment in management practices: across bureaucratic levels and among actors; around clear and consistent priorities for learning; in expected actions and availability of resources. These (mis)alignments can constrain or be leveraged by districts to improve education delivery in Ghana. Implications: We argue for better prioritization of goals toward learning and the efficient allocation of funds for management practices typical of effective organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]