Principles to Improve School Management in Tanzania : Drawing on Evidence from Around the World - Technical Note (English)

Effective leaders are a key input into high-quality schools where students learn. Numerous studies have shown that improved management practices are associated with faster levels of student learning. Yet school management practices are relatively weak in Tanzania, thus limiting educational performance. The objective of this learning note is to identify lessons from Tanzania and beyond to inform Shule Bora's programmatic efforts-funded by Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office-and provide select examples of interventions to improve school leadership. The note draws on several types of evidence. First, the authors extract lessons from recent systematic reviews on school management practices in low- and middle-income countries. Second, they examine a wide array of evidence from Tanzania itself, including causal evidence, descriptive evidence, and even suggestive evidence exploring correlations between management practices and teacher satisfaction or student outcomes. Third, the authors examine evidence from other countries in the region and the world more selectively to see what lessons Tanzania might learn.