Concerning heads of preschool and principals leadership, the entrepreneurial approach is relatively unproblematised, although research have shown classroom leadership to be important for pupils learning and for what characterizes successful schools (Ellmin, 2011; Höög & Johansson, 2011). I have chosen the term ‘entrepreneurship’ since its considerable space in existing curriculum and what it means to lead a school towards an entrepreneurial attitude.

An entrepreneur is characterized as an individual who take risks, has a creative and innovative attitude, one who sees opportunities rather than obstructions, and coordinates through networks (Leffler, 2006). What then, are the capabilities of heads of preschool and principals in the present enquiry that has significance on a leadership that will promote entrepreneurship?

As a phenomenon and concept entrepreneurship has existed for almost two decades on a policy level. Already 1989 the OECD presented the report “Towards an ’enterprising’ culture – a challenge for education and training”. The report expressed a strong concern for the unemployment among youth that paralleled the need for change in schools work and working tradition. Entrepreneurial abilities were considered necessary not only for the labor market, but also a changed need for the society in general. The need of individuals that can take responsibility, initiative, and show creativity was highlighted. It was mostly a question of trying to utilize the young generations’ capacity, and to develop their enterprising competencies (OECD, 1989). In the Education Act (2010:800), the concept of knowledge is given a broad meaning, which is mirrored in the curricula (Skolverket, 2011a, 2011b). A clear change in these was that teaching was supposed to focus on development of abilities and skills that would contribute to an attitude in pupils promoting entrepreneurship. This includes among other aspects, that school shall stimulate the pupils’ creativity and curiosity, as well as the will to explore individual ideas and solve problems. What does this implicate for the leadership in school?

Concerning entrepreneurship, leadership in school is often considered equal to leadership in the business world. Is it possible to make this comparison, and what is there to learn for school in this comparison on aspects of leadership development? In the analysis of the enquiry the four leadership roles described by Ichak Adizes (1997) are tested; the Producer (P), the Administrator (A), the Entrepreneur (E), and the Integrator (I). In discussing their interrelationships within the results of the enquiry, the significance of the different leadership roles of the heads of preschool and principals may be visualized.

The aim of the present paper is thus to problematize entrepreneurship as a concept and phenomenon in the school context, and to discuss what leadership roles, according to Adizes, that could be considered successful in implementing entrepreneurship. What roles does the successful school leader display? What expectations and requirements can we establish according to the results? The results may give a reference to what heads of preschool and principals need to express in order to successfully develop their activity towards entrepreneurship.

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