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Creative ecology in distributed leadership: Enabling cross-disciplinary arts integration in secondary schools

Jiangjiang Zhu

Educational Management Administration & Leadership2026https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432261435156article
AJG 2ABDC B
Weight
0.50

Abstract

This study explains how Distributed Leadership (DL) and Creative Ecology (CE) interact to sustain cross-disciplinary arts integration in secondary schools. We conducted a cross-national comparative multiple-case study of eight arts-rich schools in China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. Mixed methods integrated Social Network Analysis with qualitative patterning from memos and rapid matrices. Pre- and post-staff network surveys informed a cross-case synthesis using replication logic. Enactment of DL was operationalized using network and boundary indicators. Four of eight schools met the DL-enactment threshold. Where midlevel leaders shared connectivity and stewardship of external partners, networks became denser and more permeable, and cross-disciplinary projects expanded. Centralized networks showed limited boundary openness and modest gains. Country contrasts were consistent: Singapore and South Korea displayed high-DL, resilient configurations. China and Japan remained principal-centered with selective partnerships. The study contributes an integrated framework that operationalizes CE conditions as network properties and links them to DL enactment. Also, it offers design principles: distribute brokerage to midlevel leaders, institutionalize cross-department committees, and create redundant ties to external partners under supportive policy and time structures.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432261435156

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@article{jiangjiang2026,
  title        = {{Creative ecology in distributed leadership: Enabling cross-disciplinary arts integration in secondary schools}},
  author       = {Jiangjiang Zhu},
  journal      = {Educational Management Administration & Leadership},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432261435156},
}

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Creative ecology in distributed leadership: Enabling cross-disciplinary arts integration in secondary schools

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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