Meso-level education governance: The rise and fall of regional improvement collaboratives in Scotland

Academic research has increasingly prioritised learner-centred reform, often overlooking the political dynamics that shape how reforms unfold. Large-scale change frequently falters because technocratic approaches fail to account for these complex political processes, while neoliberal, performance-driven agendas reinforce top-down reforms that marginalise the cultural and relational dimensions essential for meaningful improvement. This article examines the politics of education reform in Scotland through the creation and dissolution of the Regional Improvement Collaboratives (RICs), established after the 2016 Governance Review. Although the Review aimed to develop a more empowered, school-led system grounded in subsidiarity, the RICs exposed persistent tensions between local autonomy and central oversight and highlighted the dominance of structural over cultural change. Documentary analysis shows how policy narratives shaped governance and practice, revealing challenges in collaboration, the limiting effects of restricted funding and the impact of uneven evaluation and shifting national priorities. Overall, the analysis demonstrates that efforts to empower the system were undermined by centralised accountability and by cultural, relational and political conditions that inhibited genuine collaboration. The rise and fall of the RICs illustrates that, without shared purpose, trust and coherent system-wide practice, structural reform risks becoming symbolic rather than transformative.