Secondary education has, in recent years, been recognised globally as a development issue that needs urgent attention. The United Nations released a set of Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 that contained targets aimed to be reached by 2030. Secondary education was included in this set of goals, demonstrating the global move to improve access to this level of schooling. The United Republic of Tanzania is an ethnically diverse country located in East Africa. It has had a complex and contested history, with many different groups having influenced its present day shape. This thesis focusses on the various perspectives which have shaped the current formation of the education sector. This examination begins during the period of colonialism under the German Empire (late 1800s) and moves through to the 2000s. Understanding the historical context of the modern day situation is particularly important for effective implementation of future policy. This thesis seeks to bring together a wide range of literature on this topic, hoping to shed light on the current situation in Tanzania. Development discourse and policies have shaped secondary education in Tanzania for many years, and still continue to do so. This means that any investigation of education needs to take into account the broader field of development. Development as an ideology emerged after World War II at the same time as many countries gained independence from their colonial rulers. The context of its emergence necessarily influenced the type of ideas and policies promoted, an influence which is still apparent today. Some of the main educational development ideas examined in this thesis are those of the Tanzanian government, international multi-lateral agencies, local non-government organisations and the Tanzanian people themselves. These diverse groups have had differential impacts on the secondary education system’s formation and development. I draw on various development theorists and frameworks to provide an in-depth analysis of this. The thesis is focussed on five main themes. These themes run throughout and include an examination of the structural factors influencing the secondary education system, the emergence of a dualistic education system, the progression of a Tanzanian national identity through the education system, a specific analysis of Tanzanian girls’ access to secondary education, and the relationship between neo-liberal policies and the secondary education system. These themes connect each time period together and illustrate the importance of gaining a contextual understanding so that future secondary education system policy is both equitable and culturally relevant.