Leading mandated network formation in Chile’s new public education system

The public education system in Chile was reformed in 2017, introducing networking as a principle for governing and improving schools. Between 2018 and 2025, 70 Local Public Education Services (SLE) will replace 345 municipalities as the intermediate level of the new system. SLEs are mandated to lead the formation of networks to support the improvement of schools. This paper presents a qualitative case study exploring how professionals from one SLE in lead the formation of mandated networks. Findings from 20 in-depth interviews were analysed using the network formation model proposed by Segato and Raab ([2019]. “Mandated Network Formation.” International Journal of Public Sector Management 32 (2): 191–206.). School networks were configured by SLE professionals, introducing hierarchical elements into their coordination. SLE professionals acknowledged a tension between guiding networks to produce horizontal and collaborative relationships and coordinating school networks vertically as functional units to support and supervise schools. In the discussion we argue that this tension emerged from SLE professionals’ mindset where prior experiences with vertical and centralised coordination, associated with hierarchical governance, predominated over new forms of horizontal and distributed leadership, associated with network governance.