The Future of Educational Entrepreneurship

The Future of Educational Entrepreneurship examines the challenge of creating innovative and productive entrepreneurial activity in American education. In the course of exploring these challenges, the book considers a number of crucial issues and circumstances: existing "barriers to entry" that prohibit or obstruct entrepreneurial efforts; the availability--and frequent lack--of venture capital for fueling entrepreneurial activities; the effort to sponsor and create a sufficiently large population of talented educational entrepreneurs; and questions about research, development, and quality control in the burgeoning entrepreneurial sector. <p/> A field that is likely to grow in size and importance in the years to come, educational entrepreneurship receives much-needed attention, analysis, and elucidation in this lively, wide-ranging book. <p/> "This volume comprises some of the deepest thinking to date on many of the most pressing issues related to school reform. Its authors tell us not just what must be done, but how to do it. I recommend this book most enthusiastically." -- Clayton M. Christensen, Professor, Harvard Business School <p/> "The last decade has witnessed an unprecedented wave of social entrepreneurs who have set their sights on improving America's K-12 education system, yet this phenomenon has gone largely unexamined--until now. Frederick Hess and his team of analysts offer an honest examination of what is considered by many to be the most exciting--and most promising--sector of public education. Questions about scale, replicability, and systemic impact are sure to dominate the education policy landscape for years to come, and this work takes the first stab at laying out these important issues." -- Joe Williams, Executive Director, Democrats for Education Reform <p/> "The Future of Educational Entrepreneurship illuminates the emerging ecosystem of 'edupreneurism' in the United States. It is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the confounding complexity of the supply side of education reform--and certainly for anyone wishing to enter the field. By reading this book, new edupreneurs can relinquish their naiveté while maintaining their passion for improving public education. The book is right on target and may even tell too many of our secrets. And yet, a movement that fails to critically assess and reform itself can't expect to improve anything else. This is powerful stuff." -- Caprice Young, President and CEO, California Charter Schools Association <p/>Frederick M. Hess is director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute and executive editor of Education Next. He has edited and authored numerous books, including With the Best of Intentions: How Philanthropy Is Reshaping K-12 Education and Educational Entrepreneurship: Realities, Challenges, Possibilities, both published by Harvard Education Press.