Innovation in the Schoolhouse: Entrepreneurial Leadership in Education

(Paperback)

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The call for entrepreneurial leadership in education has never been stronger, but there is little descriptive information about this kind of leadership and even less advice on how a leader might grow in this dimension. Beginning with the constant need for innovation in every learning organization, the author makes a case for an entrepreneurial style of leadership in education.

The author paints a multi-faceted picture of entrepreneurial leadership using stories of real leaders in combination with writings from the social sciences, education, natural sciences, business and the arts. The incursion of business practices in education is also addressed head-on. The author defends the historic, democratic tradition of education against 21st century neoliberal trends, while allowing room to learn from best practices in other fields. The role of risk-taking and incentives is examined along with leadership motives.

The goal of this book is not just better leaders, but educational organizations that are entrepreneurial in nature. The author offers practical advice to educational leaders, from teachers to principals to superintendents, on practical steps toward a more innovative organization. Specific chapters on the school leader, teacher leaders and school partnerships offer practical wisdom for out-of-the-box thinking.

Reviews

Jack Leonard has written a thoughtful and personal account of his experiences as an entrepreneurial school leader. Leaders who function as creative, independent and courageous thinkers are often misunderstood in school districts structured hierarchically in a risk-adverse culture. Everyone in education involved in the rethinking of how schools and their central office should be organized and led will find Leonards ideas around the value that entrepreneurial leaders bring to an organization valuable and forward thinking. -- Michael Contompasis, retired superintendent, Boston Public Schools
30 years ago no one talked about universities and entrepreneurship in the same breath, but today we expect universities to generate new ideas, translational research and patents. This book imports ideas about successful entrepreneurship into the K-12 sector, overturning the conventional assumption that schools cannot be reformed from within. Embedded in educational research as well as evidence from other sectors, it should be required reading for policy makers, principals, and superintendents who are interested in supporting school change. -- Karen Seashore Louis, professor emeritus, Beck Chair of Ideas in Education, Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development, University of Minnesota

High school principals face the daunting task of creating rigorous and challenging education programs with dwindling monetary supports from state and local governments. A principal must develop and offer programs and options to his/her students and prepare them for the mercurial changes in today's world. Jack Leonard has provided examples and clear descriptions of the paths that new entrepreneurial principals may take in providing systems and opportunities for their students.

The reader is given a full background and an opportunity to see up close what these systems are and look inside at the innovators who have nurtured their development. This book should be on the shelf of every principal who wants to be on the cutting edge of schools in the 21st century.

Author Bio

Jack Leonard has served in education for 45 years, from pre-school to graduate school, as a teacher, administrator and school founder. He now teaches and conducts research on leadership and school partnerships for the Leadership in Urban Schools program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.