Through narration and with the aid of 27 tables and 11 figures, this book reports on the school supervision system in four African countries. (The research is part of a larger series of studies sponsored by UNESCO and the International Institute for Educational Planning.) The countries studied were Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. The study examined the role played by individual supervisors and supervision services provided by national education departments and regional authorities. Depending on the country, data for the study were gathered from interviews with national and regional administrators, various types of inspectors and consultants, principals, and teachers. The samples illustrate the daily operation and the circumstance within which supervisors actually work. The report is organized into four parts: (1) "General Overview of Supervision and Support Structures"; (2) "Management of Supervision and Support Services"; (3) "The Actual Operation of Supervision and Support Services"; and (4) "Overall Assessment." Two major conclusions of the study are that reform is feasible with minimal additional financing and that supervision services should concentrate on the needs of individual disadvantaged schools. This publication forms the first volume of the study. Volume 2 presents the four national diagnoses undertaken as part of the study. (WFA)