A meta-analysis of distributed leadership from 2002 to 2013 : Theory development, empirical evidence and future research focus

Abstract

This article provides a meta-analysis of research conducted on distributed leadership from 2002 to 2013. It continues the review of distributed leadership commissioned by the English National College for School Leadership (NCSL) (Bennett et al., 2003), which identified two gaps in the research during the1996–2002 period. The review found that the studies had been unable to conceptualise distributed leadership or empirically outline its application. The two research gaps identified by Bennett et al. (2003) constitute the focus of the present review, which attempts to determine whether recent research has been able to fill these gaps. Based on the findings of the present meta-analysis, the authors recommend directions for future studies on distributed leadership.