Power networks in public educational management: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Power networks and corrupt practices significantly impact public education systems in Latin America, affecting political and labor management, resource allocation, control mechanisms, and the structural and formative impact of education, thus jeopardizing the achievement of SDG 4. Materials and methods: A qualitative, exploratory, and explanatory systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA methodology. A search of Redalyc, Latindex, SciELO, and Scopus (2018–2025) initially yielded 209 articles, from which, after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 20 studies were selected for the final analysis corpus. Results: The findings show that corruption manifests itself in three interrelated dimensions: (1) political and labor management: manipulation of teacher evaluations, hiring based on political affiliation, and weak institutional control systems, generating job insecurity and distrust; (2) resources and procurement: misappropriation of funds, clientelism, and a lack of transparency in all phases of administrative management; (3) Structural and educational impact: commodification of higher education, lack of solid ethical training, and exclusion of vulnerable groups. The geographical distribution of the studies shows a predominance of Peru (45%) and Mexico (30%), with a mostly qualitative approach (90%). Discussion: It is evident that, despite anti-corruption regulatory frameworks, gaps persist in their effective implementation due to institutional capture by power networks and weak accountability systems. Conclusions: Overcoming these limitations requires a comprehensive approach that combines transparency, institutional strengthening, and ethical training from basic to higher education to guarantee equity and democracy.