Managing performance limitations in Tanzanian open schools: An eye on Lipsky’s crow’s nest

Abstract

Open schools in Tanzania are crucial for providing secondary education to adults and teenagers who are not enrolled in formal education but still face academic challenges. Prior research has mostly focused on individual (micro) teacher-client interactions, with little attention paid to organisational (meso) and national (macro) level factors. By combining micro-, meso-, and macro-level perspectives anchored on Lipsky's crow's nest, this study investigates how street-level bureaucrats address the performance constraints of open schools. As part of a qualitative case study approach, interviews were used to document experiences from selected cases. The findings indicate that inadequacy at various levels produces performance disincentives. To deal with the latter, street-level bureaucrats employ resource improvisation, peer-to-peer learning, flexible scheduling, ad hoc machinery, and informal coping mechanisms to sustain learning engagement. Although these changes support continuity in education, at some point, they compromise policy uniformity. Therefore, improving open school outcomes requires increasing the availability of resources, strengthening teacher capacity, and integrating adaptive practices into official policy.