Because their mission is to guide students on the path of knowledge and because their daily acts lead them to make decisions, teachers can be seen as leaders. It then becomes interesting to develop a managerial vision of their teaching styles.

Adapting the leadership grids, we construct a three dimensional model by crossing the variables from the two fields of discipline: the interest the teacher brings to knowledge, to the student and the participation of the latter in his learning. Of their three to three combinations, eight styles are profiled: laissez-faire, paternalist, authoritarian, kindly autocrat, pure form, friend, manipulator and mediator. Each is characterized by a few definite traits; but some exceptions are possible! For us, the 'mediator' represents the ideal style because he harmonizes the three dimensions and invites the learner to become a true participant in his learning (which changes the power relationship between the actors). Also, he makes conditions favourable for the stimulation of creativity, fair compromise with order, necessary because of the requirements of knowledge and freedom in learning, allowing a mobilization and a transfer of competence in the changing professional situations of society.