Given the pivotal role played by the school principal in conducting the school s educational task, this study aimed at broadening the discussion on the relationships that can be established between the principals activity and both the teachers work and the students achievement. The role of the school principal was analyzed from the perspective of his/her political role and his/her legal duties, having as analytical reference the concepts of school management, leadership, and school climate. Therefore, a wide literature review on the topic was conducted. The proposed scope of research encompassed the municipal schools of Rio de Janeiro which in 2014 catered to both segments of elementary school. An exploratory study with data provided by Prova Brazil indicated possible relationships between the principal s leadership and the students achievement; however, potential limitations in the use of this data were raised. This work used complementary quantitative and qualitative methodologies in a theoretical and conceptual approach to the topic. To broaden the access to information that supports the discussion of the questions posed by this research, new questionnaires targeted at principals, coordinators, and teachers were developed. The questionnaires were tested and subsequently applied to a sample of 42 schools, having then been validated through the construction of indices that adequately synthesize the different aspects of the relationships between the principals’ activity and both the teachers work, considering students achievement. With these indices, an exploratory modeling was conducted to investigate possible associations between the dimensions studied, indicating the importance of the teachers perception of school principalship (through different variables) for the quality of their work and for student achievement. From the data analysis, two schools in the sample were selected for a return to the field in a qualitative approach involving interviews and observation of the school management (shadowing), enabling a deeper understanding of the relationships identified by the quantitative study as well as gathering information for the improvement of the questionnaires. It is noteworthy that, in the case of this research, the data seemed to indicate that a proactive principal, specially creating a positive environment to academic practices, is an important element for both teaching quality and student learning. The qualitative approach pointed out two different ways in which the principal s actions build this school climate , involving their leadership characteristics developed in each space. In summary, this study seeks to contribute to the discussion of the characteristics of the principal s work and its possible relationship with the teachers work and student learning by: 1) conducting a meta-analysis, including the structured review of recent research on the topic; 2) proposing and testing a new quantitative data collection instrument, focused on school management and school climate; 3) presenting the results of an exploratory study with the data collected, having found important clues that help address the issues in future researches on the field.