The Impact of the Leadership and Management on Academic performance in Secondary Schools in Tanzania. The case of Iringa Region.

The study investigated the impact of leadership and management on academic performance of students in Secondary Schools on the basis of National Examinations with specific attention to the perceptions of teachers, students themselves and support staff. Academic performance was measured by NECTA examinations over time (four years) thus making it possible to judge a schools standing on a continuum of low, medium/moderate or high performance. Management and leadership were specialized in terms of various competences behavior and approaches styles exhibited by school managers and leaders in the face of challenges in acquiring and using resources for educational improvement in general and academic performance in particular. A total of responses from 56 respondents were collected through questionnaires, interviews, checklists, documentary reviews, informal discussions and observation. The findings of this study showed that participatory style management plays an important role in determining the performance of students in examinations. The findings also showed that poor management stemming from lack of participatory management leads to poor school performance. Based on the findings the researcher recommends the following; first democratization of school management should be strengthened through widening the representation of students and staff in school bodies; second, the role of academics and students in the selection of top officials should be increased through empowerment of staff and student associations