A comparative study of the entrepreneurial characteristics and orientation of K--8 public, charter, and for-profit schools

The history of American public schools is replete with reform efforts. Countless debates have focused on what should be taught, how it should be taught, and whose province it is to decide. Recent reform efforts challenge the public monopoly on schooling with several options. One assumption of such reform efforts is that schools operating outside the present system can experiment without the restrictions of bureaucratic and union boundaries and may reflect an entrepreneurial orientation and certain personal entrepreneurial characteristics.;Business literature identifies characteristics associated with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial organizations. Business leaders in different communities have indicated that schools might benefit from the existence of reform models, different from the traditional ones, which might offer competition. As yet, it has not been determined if such an orientation does indeed exist in reform option schools or if such an orientation is different from that in traditional public schools. Is there a similarity between the reform options and the business environment?;The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether or not an entrepreneurial orientation exists within reform option schools and if it varies across charter, for-profit options, and traditional settings. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study employed surveys and focus group interviews of participants from eight urban K-8 schools, consisting of three public, two for-profit Edison and three not-for-profit charter schools. The survey measured the entrepreneurial orientation of the school and two entrepreneurial characteristics within individuals. Charter, public, and Edison focus groups added a rich layer of qualitative data to more fully reflect the characteristics of entrepreneurship within each setting.;The results of the research indicated statistically significant differences in strategic orientation in the school reform types in comparison with public schools. While the surveys reflected the presence of two personal entrepreneurial traits in all school types, differences across school types were not statistically significant. Key entrepreneurial elements of risk taking, internal locus of control, and other associated characteristics were present in charter and for-profit Edison school leadership to significantly greater degree than in traditional public schools.;Successful business organizations are frequently identified as collaborative, flexible, market sensitive, and energizing. That charter and Edison schools reflect similarities to such firms would indicate desirable characteristics within reform option schools. Implications for school leadership, recruitment, and selection of employees and further research are discussed.