The intellectual capital of schools: lessons from the commercial sector

Kelly, Anthony (2004) The intellectual capital of schools: lessons from the commercial sector , Dordrecht, Holland. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 161pp.

Abstract

This is the first book to develop a theory of intellectual capital for schools, from an author with considerable experience in extending sophisticated external concepts to education. it will be of interest to practitioners, academics and students in the fields of education, business and social enterprise.It is difficult to measure effectiveness in not-for-profit organisations like schools; there is no ‘bottom-line’ against which to gauge performance and managers struggle to make meaningful comparisons between outcomes and targets. In education, well-publicised attempts have been made to establish - some would say impose - a set of criteria against which schools can measure success or failure. These have so far centred on measuring external stakeholder outcomes like examination results, parental satisfaction, inspection grades and so on, but have failed to capture the essence of what it is to be - or what it takes to become - a successful school. This book is an attempt to describe the potential of a school for improvement and to gauge its success in new intrinsic terms ... in terms of its internal intellectual capital; the resource that comes from relationships between a school and its stakeholders, from its ability to innovate and manage change, from its infrastructure, and from the knowledge and transferable competencies of its staff. Intellectual capital is at the core of what society deems to be the purpose and definition of successful schooling, and being largely internal, it promises maximum leverage in the search for improvement.

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Contributors

Author: Anthony Kelly

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