Exploring the Influence of College Students' Perceptions of Teachers' Ambidextrous Leadership on Creativity: The Mediating Role of Aesthetic Experience

Abstract

Purpose: Ambidextrous leadership in education domain is reflected in teachers’ ability to provide aesthetic experience to students by stimulating their creativity. This study proposes and validates a mediation model to investigate the mediating role of aesthetic experience in the relationship between college students' perceptions of teachers' ambidextrous leadership and their creativity. Methodology: A questionnaire survey was administered, which addressed transformational leadership, transactional leadership, aesthetic experience, and creativity as variables of a conceptual model. A sample size of 670 college students from Chinese colleges participated. The data was tested using PROCESS and Bootstrapping methods. Findings: The research findings indicate that college students' perceptions of teachers' ambidextrous leadership have a significantly positive impact on both creativity and aesthetic experience; and college students' aesthetic experience also has a significantly positive impact on creativity. Furthermore, mediation model demonstrate that aesthetic experience fully mediates the relationship between college students' perceptions of teachers' ambidextrous leadership and students' creativity. Implications for Research and Practice: The study findings would offer useful insights for school leaders and teachers to foster student creativity and cultivate teachers' proficiency in ambidextrous leadership, Teachers should promote aesthetic-oriented activities like organizing art exhibitions, facilitating artistic creation projects, and integrating interdisciplinary art education into the curriculum.