What is Four in Balance? - PDST

8 - Collaboration and leadershipCategories of leadershipTeachers were asked to describe the leadership qualities displayedby their school management. Their answers show that there are two –complementary – categories of leadership; for now, we will refer to theseas transactional and transformational (Marzano, 2005; Kelchtermans, 2010;Van Gennip 2011a).Transactional leaders• make software and hardware available;• expect that teachers will use these; and• give teachers the leeway they need to experiment.This strategy, however, tends to support teachers who are already in thevanguard. In terms of the Four in Balance model, transactional leadersfocus mainly on the material factors, i.e. the ICT infrastructure anddigital learning materials. Three quarters of teachers say that this is theleadership behavior displayed by their school management.Transformational leaders• focus on and promote professional development;• keep track of what teachers are doing with ICT and offer guidance; and• encourage teachers to work toward a shared goal.• In doing this, transformational leaders support the entire teachingstaff. In terms of the Four in Balance model, transformational leadersfocus more on the human factors, i.e. vision and expertise.Teachers say that transformational leadership is less common thantransactional leadership, even though it is precisely this category ofleadership that supports teachers most in their efforts to improve pupilperformance (Fullan, 2011; Etuce, 2009; Robinson, 2010).Figure 8.5 shows that when it comes to ICT use, teachers feel that theirschool managers focus more on the material factors than on the humanones. It is also clear that when school managers do focus on the humanfactors (vision and professional development), they are more likely tobe in the primary education sector than in the secondary or vocationaleducation and training sector.71