Too often, teachers are subject to top-down policies, procedures, and pedagogies that either bear little resemblance to their day-to-day experience or are so numerous as to be overwhelming in the face of their other responsibilities. When this occurs, teachers often resist these top-down approaches, instead opting to figure things out on their own, or creating their own hybrid approaches that are acceptable according to local social norms. For example, King and his colleagues (2022) found that while teachers adopted effective reading program content, they often retained their previous, less effective pedagogies; teachers utilized a heuristic short-cut requiring lower mental effort to implement the program while upholding social norms in the school. When teachers fail to adopt new and effective instructional reforms, learners don’t access the benefits of the improved instruction and the impact on learning outcomes is minimized. This situation may explain findings from Nepal, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya, where 80% of the impact from early grade reading (EGR) interventions is explained by just 13% to 34% of schools, depending on the country context (King et al., 2022). What can be done to increase the uptake of interventions in LMICs? Research on educational change and the diffusion of innovation suggest peer-to-peer learning can be a powerful way to enhance the diffusion of information and provide the support teachers need to adopt new methodologies – and can be more effective than top-down approaches for changing behavior (Fullan, 2015; Daly et al., 2010). Through peer-to-peer interactions, individuals develop social capital, the resources through which information and trust are exchanged and can be called upon to support the successful adoption of innovation and new methodologies. We will present findings from a study (October 2022-September 2023) conducted in collaboration with USAID/Tanzania Jifunze Uelewe Project that seeks to better understand the ways in which teacher peer-to-peer transmission of information, ideas, and support in Tanzania harness that power of social capital to more efficiently diffuse effective pedagogies and support their application in the classroom. Utilizing social network analysis (SNA) combined with key informant interviews, we studied how teacher-influencers and the density of teacher social networks and formal school structures for teacher communication and collaboration (e.g., communities of practice) promote or impede adoption. In this presentation we will seek to accomplish the following objectives: Present findings on the role that teacher social networks and formal school structures for communication and collaboration can play in supporting or impeding uptake of education interventions. Provide a framework for practitioners to enhance teacher peer interactions within and across schools to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of education change innovations. By better understanding the mechanisms of teacher peer interactions and learning in LMICs – such as teacher social networks and formal structures for teacher communication and collaboration - the international education community will be in a better position to leverage these assets to advance the diffusion and support of education innovations in LMICs.