As a PhD student my research is situated within political science, with a particular focus on public administration and educational leadership.
As a doctoral student in political science with a specialisation in public administration and education, I am affiliated with three units: the Department of Political Science, the Centre for Principal Development, and Umeå School of Education.
In my thesis, I examine middle managers in Swedish local education administrations and explore various dimensions of their autonomy and power. My aim is to understand the roles these middle managers hold—what they do, how they do it, and the organisational conditions that enable their work. By analysing how institutional structures and norms shape their perceived autonomy and power, the thesis seeks to contribute new insights into the dynamics of local educational governance. The thesis revolves around three research questions: 1. In what local educational governance contexts are middle managers active? 2. How do middle managers, chief education officers and principals perceive middle manager autonomy and power? 3. What roles do middle managers play in the Swedish system of local education governance?