The study searches for staff development programs associated with good academic performance in the Lesotho Primary School Leaving Examination. The study was conducted mainly to: • examine the type of programs available in schools to support staff development. The research was conducted by means of questionnaires (Appendix 2) handed out to principals and teachers in four primary schools in the Mafeteng district in Lesotho. The results of the study indicate that there were inadequate staff development programs in schools and that the programs were not well administered. The main recommendations of the study were: • Considering the nature and scope of this study there is need to broaden the scope of further research to include not only few schools in Mafeteng district but also all schools in Lesotho. • Research should not be conducted in primary schools only; but in post primary schools as well where staff development programs may just be as important as they are in the primary schools. More research needs to be carried out in order to investigate the quality of the programs that presently exist in schools, because according to the study it seems the very few that exist do not have much impact on the academic performance in the schools studied. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 2002.