Social Sciences and Humanities Open (Jan 2024)
Educational leadership's role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in education: A narrative literature review
Abstract
In recent years, educational leadership has come under increased scrutiny due to rising expectations and demands for accountability. Despite the proliferation of leadership models, there remains a notable gap in comprehensive reviews that connect progressive leadership theories with fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in education. This narrative literature review aims to identify pertinent theories of educational leadership—such as instructional, distributed, and transformational leadership—and explore their potential applications in driving innovation and entrepreneurship within educational settings. The objective is to assess how these leadership approaches can cultivate creativity, encourage risk-taking, and champion entrepreneurship to enhance educational outcomes. This review draws from databases like ‘Taylor and Francis Online,’ ‘ResearchGate,’ ‘Elsevier,’ and search platforms such as ‘Google Scholar’ and ‘ERIC.’ Eight key elements critical for leaders to promote an entrepreneurial culture were identified, including goal-setting, fostering collaboration, and adopting risk-taking approaches. By highlighting these elements, this review addresses the need to reassess leadership theories to align with the evolving demands of modern education, thus offering unique insights into bridging leadership with innovation and entrepreneurship.
