Postgraduate Programmes

Study a Masters Course

There’s a lot to think about before applying for a Masters degree with us, and we understand that making the decision to do postgraduate study is a big one. To help you get started, why not explore our subjects here, or grab yourself a prospectus to read in your own time. At postgraduate level, you can choose to study our Master of Education Leadership and Management  (M.Ed LEMA.), which enables teachers, trainers and tutors from all backgrounds to reflect on the way they teach and develop their practice in an innovative way. On this  course, you’ll be able to gain insight and inspiration by interacting and learning from fellow educational professionals from across the globe. You can choose to study the full Master of Education Leadership and Management, or you can break it down into Part-time programme.

Masters of Educational Leadership and Management (MEd LEMA)

The MEd LEMA is a two (2) years’ full-time programme. Nevertheless, it has a three (3) years’ part time option as stipulated in our guidelines for postgraduate studies. This programme ensures that students have access to a greater range of research-backed strategies that prepare them to tackle challenges in the education leadership and management. It covers practical aspects during tutorials, seminars, workshops and field trips / excavations where students apply knowledge and skills attained from the classroom theories. For example, students often undertake action research projects where they apply new ways of education leadership, management and school improvement. MEd LEMA provides an opportunity for students to explore new methods of leadership, administration and management.

Effective educational leadership, management and school improvement has been an international research agenda capturing a wide range of education stakeholders attention in a rapidly changing environment. As a result, MEd LEMA has become a priority postgraduate programme in education. There is a widespread belief that raising standards of leadership is the key to improving schools. Therefore MEd LEMA focuses on providing students the leadership behaviors that are most likely to produce favorable school and learner’s outcome.

The appointed education leaders and managers, without doubt, they need MEd LEMA managerial and leadership skills. The increased number of pupils and schools necessitated the decentralisation of management of schools as it was difficult to manage the schools from the centre. The Government decided to decentralize the management and administration of by devolving the powers to Local Government Authorities (LGAs) through Decentralization by Devolution (D-by-D). In this reform, the management of both primary and secondary education was brought to Local Government Authorities. Thus, there is a need for strengthening the capacity of education administrators to enable them to competently and efficiently manage education at local level. These leaders include head teachers, school committee members, school heads, school board members and education officials at the district and regional levels.

With decentralization and at the same time, the requirement to improve overall student performance while serving more diverse student populations is putting Tanzania schools under pressure to use more evidence-based teaching practices and resources. As a result of these trends, the function of school leadership across the country is now increasingly defined by a demanding set of roles which include financial and human resource management and Leadership for Learning. There are concerns that the role of principal, head teacher or headmaster as conceived for needs of the past is no longer appropriate. School leaders have heavy workloads; many are reaching retirement and it is getting harder to replace them. These developments are the force behind proposing this master degree (MEd Leadership and Management) to cater for the need of enough and qualified educational managers.

MEd LEMA program intends to develop educational leaders who can serve in schools to foster learning and academic achievement. It addresses formal and informal leadership methods, emphasizing the roles and contributions of teachers as leaders of instructional improvement, including ways that teachers can work together to promote collaborative cultures. The programme further emphasizes the essential components of leadership, including financial management, legal and ethical issues, professional development, and economics of education, school culture, quality control and school governance.

Programme Objectives

The Master of Education in Leadership and Management programme is designed for students who seek roles as leaders in the field of education, exposing them to innovative research and practice in the leadership, management, and administration of educational institutions. The programme helps the students familiarize themselves with a range of issues surrounding management and how the issues relate to developments in education. The students develop skills in analysis of development policies and the various factors that affect the implementation of management policies in an educational context. Specific objectives of the programme are:

  1. Produce competent master graduates with broader understanding on educational leadership and management issues and their relationship with the overall socio-economic development of a society as a whole;
  2. Expose students to educational management and administrative theories to apply knowledge and skills for developing and implementing educational policy, programs, and practices;
  3. Prepare graduates who can undertake research approaches in educational management and administrative problems.
  4. Enable participants acquire pertinent skills in designing research proposals, data collection and analysis, and report writing for informative research reports that can inform education management policies, programs, and practices;
  5. Build the capacity of graduates to undertake leadership and administrative roles in educational institutions.
  6. Produce graduates with a deepen knowledge and understanding of issues relating to education management practice through critical reflection, analysis and enquiry

 Expected Learning Outcomes

At the end of the program students will be able to:

  1. Design and lead initiatives that evaluate and improve instructional programs.
  2. Develop, implement, and manage ongoing evaluation and professional development in teaching and learning.
  3. Create strategic plans using a visioning process to be shared and supported by stakeholders.
  4. Use data to effectively manage the organization and resources for a safe, secure, and effective learning environment.
  5. Communicate and collaborate with external publics to address community interests and diverse needs.
  6. Articulate the school’s role within the broader political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context and responding effectively to changes that impact the school community.
  7. Design a framework for teacher development that takes into account the conditions under which teachers work.
  8. Create a line of research that has the potential for contributing important new understandings to the field of Educational leadership and administration.
  9. Apply leadership theories, historical and socio-cultural conditions, and a personal philosophy for decision making.
  10. Engage in exploring a range of research methods within both quantitative and qualitative paradigms and critically evaluate these in the context of the work of school leadership.
  11. Explore prominent leadership theories and apply these theories in the course of addressing a variety of organizational issues and problems.
  12. Design, implement, manage, and assess learning activities and projects.
  13. Express educational thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts.
  14. Work effectively in a diverse group of peers and team members, to solve problems related to curriculum and pedagogical issues.
  15. Present results of research or comments on scientific matters with care and accuracy.
  16. Develop instructional and curriculum leadership.
  17. Write a scholarly research assignments and project in education and the related areas of specialisations.