5.2 Leadership style
5.2.1 Transformational leadership
As a composite variable, transformational leadership (refer to table 2) received a mean rating of 2.79 (on a
five-point likert scale). Bass and Avolio (1990) suggested that ideal ratings for the transformational variables should
be greater than three (>3.0). Principals did not meet this benchmark. Moreover, we found that a representative
sample of Malaysian secondary school principals provided fairly often some elements of transformational
leadership. This result suggests that some professional development programs should be provided for principals. In
fact, if Malaysian principals want to initiate and implement school change through the use of information and
communications technology, they must be eager to model the transformational components of charisma (idealized
influence), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration in their schools.