Educational Leadership and the Entrepreneurial Spirit

In the annals of leadership history, one of the standouts will undoubtedly be Steve Jobs, CEO and Co-Founder of Apple Computers, and now a force to be reckoned with at Disney, Inc.. His influence has been felt not only in the computer industry, but the entertainment industry has become the recipient of his need to affect technology forever.

There are numerous descriptors for Jobs which give insight into his philosophy of leadership. One of the key features of his leadership is his entrepreneurial spirit. In this spirit is his need to fully understand, and engage in, all aspects of his creations. He has grown most of his endeavors from seedlings. Apple Computers, NEXT, and to some degree even Pixar, have been built from nothing, with most becoming successful ventures. In a BusinessWeek interview in 2004, Jobs shared, "I did everything coming up - shipping, sales, supply chain, sweeping the floors, buying chips, you name it. I put computers together with my own two hands. As the industry grew up, I kept on doing it." In spite of the numerous projects or activities that tug at his time, and the numerous distractions that could interfere with his ability to meet his primary goals, he refuses to be removed from each component of the work. Educational leaders must develop the same entrepreneurial spirit. They must understand each component of the work at a deep level. It means applying this understanding in creating and developing an educational institution that addresses the needs of all students, staff, and school community. It also means not allowing themselves to get distracted.

Understanding What a Masters in Educational Leadership Entails

The intent of this type of advanced degree is to give educational leaders the tools they need to create positive change. This allows a school leader to create an opportunity for students to actually learn, which supporting the process entirely. This kind of degree also helps inspire professionals by developing their skills for more of an empowered leadership.

Servicing the community is a major factor for getting such a degree. In fact, a degree in educational leadership depends on the basis that this individual wants to work toward the development and success of each student under their supervision. The goal is to give students equal access to learning methods, facilities and materials.

There are a number of basic principles that guide this kind of degree. Namely, the obligation of school leaders to serve their student population equally. The tools received with this degree also focus on the power of student-based leadership and how this can encourage a student all the way to success.

School administrators learn how to become instructional and curriculum leaders. The focus is place on the curriculum along with a student's ability to succeed. This program gives administrators the knowledge they need to encourage vital critical thinking skills.

Aiming For the Masters of Educational Leadership

If other methods of obtaining tuition do not completely cover the costs then Sallie Mae can pick up the slack.

Sallie Mae can lower the overall costs of a loan because it is a program where the interest due is paid while in school. A good way to reduce the interest rate is to have a cosigner. The better their credit score, the lower the interest rate.

Some employers will assist a grad student with their tuition. Many companies offer tuition reimbursement as well as scholarships. The rules for being granted this assistance varies from company to company. Often times it will only cover a portion of books or tuition. In most cases, an employer will request the money back, for termination from employment. While often, a forgotten way to fund school, it will be an excellent option.

Check into fellowships at the school. They will pay for school while allowing one to work in their field. Several schools offer these programs. Fellowships can be a great way to supplement or entirely pay for a masters education.

The Need for Effective Leadership in Education Has Never Been Greater

Pick up the newspaper, listen to the news, visit a school, think of your own children and those in your community - has there ever been a time when our country needed greater leadership in education? Anyone in the education field is keenly aware of this need.

If you're currently in the field of education and aspire to become involved in a leadership position, you can pursue your goals while maintaining your current responsibilities with online education.

Effective Leadership Requires Effective Training

The importance of effective leadership in any educational setting cannot be overstated. Education administrators take on a position of leadership with tremendous influence on every aspect of the organization. They provide instructional leadership as well as manage the day-to-day activities in schools, preschools, daycare centers, colleges and universities. They also direct educational programs of businesses, correctional institutions, museums, and job training and community service organizations. Regardless of the setting, effective, innovative leaders are needed.

The Responsibility of Education Administration

Today's Education Administrator has a position of great responsibility, thus, proper education and credentials are imperative for effective leadership as well as professional advancement in this vital field. These responsibilities can include setting educational standards, goals, policies, developing academic programs, and staff supervision. The ability to lead and inspire can be capitalized upon by exposing oneself to the best practices and current trends in education through online study.

Advance Your Degree

Earning an educational leadership degree from an accredited online college or university can help you advance your career in the education field or take on the exciting job of education administrator.

Increase Your Salary Options

Education leadership degrees, such as master's or Ph.D., may increase your salary and open up new advancement opportunities.

Higher Education and Society

Institutions of education, and the system of which they are a part, face a host of unprecedented challenges from forces in society that affect and are influenced by these very institutions and their communities of learners and educators. Among these forces are sweeping demographic changes, shrinking provincial budgets, revolutionary advances in information and telecommunication technologies, globalization, competition from new educational providers, market pressures to shape educational and scholarly practices toward profit-driven ends, and increasing demands and pressures for fundamental changes in public policy and public accountability relative to the role of higher education in addressing pressing issues of communities and the society at large. Anyone of these challenges would be significant on their own, but collectively they increase the complexity and difficulty for education to sustain or advance the fundamental work of serving the public good.

Through a forum on education, we can agree to: Strengthening the relationship between higher education and society will require a broad-based effort that encompasses all of education, not just individual institutions, departments and associations.

Piecemeal solutions can only go so far; strategies for change must be informed by a shared vision and a set of common objectives. A "movement" approach for change holds greater promise for transforming academic culture than the prevailing "organizational" approach.

Mobilizing change will require strategic alliances, networks, and partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders within and beyond education.

The Common Agenda is specifically designed to support a "movement" approach to change by encouraging the emergence of strategic alliances among individuals and organizations who care about the role of higher education in advancing the ideals of a diverse democratic system through education practices, relationships and service to society.

GAS Up Your Student Leadership Training

Is student leadership training on your horizon? Do you wish to enable your young people to become the successful individuals that you know that they can be? If so, make sure your student leadership training includes:

• Goals Action Plan
• Attitude Redevelopment
• Self Leadership Skills

After working with numerous schools and speaking at national conferences. I have witnessed very few student leadership programs that delivered truly sustainable life long skills. The main reason for this failure is because there is no Goals Action Plan.
Many student leadership programs talk about goals and action plans. However, they expect the students to construct their own. Tell me how many adults have personal action plans for life and yet we expect young people to physically construct their own plans.

Reinventing Educational Leadership

As the 21st century continues to unfold, the task of finding competent leaders to occupy positions of leadership in the educational arena continues to be a challenge not because of a lack of academically qualified leaders, but because of a lack of adaptive -competently qualified candidates. As such, many schools are under the leadership of leaders who lack the qualifications necessary to operate educational institutions in an era marked by rapid and constant change. If the educational scenery is to realize any meaningful change educational leadership should be reinvented. This paper identifies some of the challenges currently faced by the Education system. It looks at how these challenges may be addressed by reinventing educational leadership. The paper culminates with brief recommendations of how institutions of higher learning as well as stakeholders in the educational sector may reinvent the manner in which they prepare educational leaders -the end result not only academically-qualified, but also adaptive-competently qualified leaders who are able to perform in environments characterized by constant and rapid changes.

The educational environment in contemporary society is one in which change represents one of the very few constants. Cultural, social, political, technological and economical changes have resulted in a more diverse school populace since the genesis of education. With the advent of these changes, the educational sector is now faced with increased challenges. Challenges such as: low family literacy, increased poverty margins, a rise in dysfunctional families, and increased access to counter-productive information via internet. These challenges have seemingly created an uneven playing ground where students from all walks of life enter the education system being different, but by the time they exit, the barriers of differences should fade significantly, at least academically. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. An article by The National Association of Secondary School Principals "How do you reinvent a principal" highlights a number of effects these challenges have birthed: higher drop out rates, lower academic achievement and teacher attrition. The impact of the effects of these challenges on society is detrimental, as more students exit the educational system without the necessary qualifications to become positively contributing citizens to society.

Masters in Educational Leadership Information

If you are interested in becoming a catalyst for change, you'll need the tools to induce this change. As a leader with this type of degree, you will learn what it takes to support the learning process effectively. This type of degree will give you the skills to induce change, giving access to education to more and more students.

This degree gives you the knowledge it takes to serve the community. This particular degree encourages the participation of all students, getting them involved is a basic principle that a candidate of this degree learns. The importance of involvement is also emphasised. Giving students access to high-quality education, regardless of their class, gender or economic standing is another learning point.

There are a number of different principles that guide this degree. The obligation of school leaders to serve their students fairly and equally. This degree also encourages student-based leadership, empower students on how to make the right decisions.

The program teaches school principles to use their administrative know-how intertwined with the curriculum. The focus then grows from only a curriculum based school into an environment that works toward the student's overall ability to succeed. This kind of school program encourages critical thinking at a new level.

One of the main emphasis of a masters in educational leadership is an administrators responsibility to their student population. The goal of such a program is to give students that ordinarily come from marginalized backgrounds a chance to succeed. This is done by giving these students equal access to learning resources.