Change agents: emerging evidence on middle-tier instructional leadership

The ‘middle tier’, although frequently overlooked, forms a key part of education systems around the world. Middle-tier professionals – such as advisors, supervisors, pedagogical coaches and teacher mentors – working directly with schools and teachers are increasingly acting as a key link between policy and practice, helping to introduce and embed successful policies in schools and classrooms across the regions or districts that they work in. In this working paper, we review recent evidence on the role of middle-tier actors and the ways in which they are helping to deliver improvements in teaching and learning.

Our analysis suggests that middle-tier professionals are delivering these improvements in four key ways: by providing support, opportunities for collaboration, accountability and monitoring, and instructional direction and system alignment. However, the evidence also shows the importance of balancing these roles – supportive roles, for example, must be carefully balanced with oversight and accountability to ensure the best outcomes for teachers and learners.

While the potential of these middle-tier actors seems increasingly clear, the reality in many countries is that their capacity is often constrained, for example by historical structures or recruitment and training practices. Such barriers may be challenging to address, but our analysis suggests that when innovative strategies are put in place to strengthen these roles and workforce systems, the pace of change can be increased, and middle-tier professionals can become lynchpins in education reform.

The emerging evidence on education systems beginning to maximise the potential of the middle tier – in contexts as diverse as Ontario, Rio de Janeiro, Bihar and South Africa – is truly exciting, and holds real promise for education reform. This working paper forms part of a larger research collaboration between Education Development Trust and IIEP-UNESCO investigating the potential of these actors as catalysts for change in local school reforms.