About the Author:  Trudy Salsberry is an Associate Professor at Kansas State University, Manhattan, in the Department of Educational Administration and Leadership.  She teaches and researches in the areas of strategic leadership, change, leadership for diverse populations, and qualitative methods.  Her e-mail address is:  tas@ksu.edu.

Editor's Note: We invite our readers to recommend books or videos for review and to submit reviews for consideration.

Guiding School Improvement with Action Research.Sagor, Richard.  218pp.  The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2000.  The book is free from ASCD (www.ascd.org) for all premium members.  Regular members may purchase it for $20.95, and non-members may purchase it for $24.95.

It is no secret that effective changes in schools rest on the use of data for making decisions.  Sagor (2000) has provided educators with a seven-step process of action research for improving teaching and learning that will work for all grade levels.  Readers are able to conceptualize school improvement efforts from beginning to end by using a series of practical examples and then the corresponding research tools provided in this book.

In Part I, action research is defined as "a disciplined process of inquiry conducted by and for those taking the action.  The primary reason for engaging in action research is to assist the 'actor' in improving and/or refining his or her actions" (Sagor, 2000, p. 3).  The same seven-step process (selecting a focus, clarifying theories, identifying research questions, collecting data, analyzing data, reporting results, and taking informed action) is used by a single teacher or the faculty of a whole school and parallels the phases of the North Central Association's cycle of school improvement.

Part II emphasizes the rationale for engaging in action research (e.g., enhancing teachers' professional standing, increasing self efficacy, improving performance in increasingly diverse settings, appropriately implementing standards-based school reforms).

Part III carefully describes the action research process in its many forms.  This section is particularly useful for developing teacher self-reflection skills and connecting the theory behind the practice being examined.  In addition to developing individual teaching skills, a range of data collection guides and ideas for the development of others are described.  (For example, the Survey Development Guidelines on p. 106 are an excellent reference tool to be used when conducting follow-up surveys of graduates or for collecting perceptions of parents with regard to the selection of school goals.)  The author also tells us how to make sense of the data we collect.  He gives concrete examples of how to code data and use an analysis matrix.  Finally, he suggests ways to portray the findings that will increase the credibility and clarity of the research.

In Part IV (the final section of the text), a thoughtful description of using collaborative action research to build a learning community is included.  Schools could use this portion of the text to set the stage and create awareness of creating a vision or to examine and renew commitment to the next cycle of school improvement.  Administrators might also find this section useful for developing staff development supportive of collaborative action research, especially if they were to reference the comparison of three capacity building models: informal collaborative action research (IC), peer coaching (PC), and formal collaborative action research (FC).  All three models incorporate the use of teacher-collected data to improve instruction and involve the collaboration of peers.  They differ with respect to four issues:

1. Who directs the process?  IC empowers the teacher researcher to select the topics of research and co-researchers to work under their direction.  PC and FC promote a jointly established focus for the research.
2. What types of data are collected?  C and PF use observational data.  FC tends to use more forms of data for triangulation purposes.
3. Who is responsible for analyzing and interpreting the data?  IC places the teacher researcher in charge of the analysis.  PC and FC models employ an equal and collaborative approach for all discussions of meaning behind data.
4. Where are the results reported?  PC and IC investigations are generally shared with only one audience, the individual whose classroom was observed.  FC research is conducted so that others in the larger educational community can profit from the findings.

In conclusion, Guiding School Improvement with Action Research, a publication of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, is a good source of information for creating an awareness of what constitutes action research and how working collaboratively as professionals, teachers can take charge of improving their schools.  In its 200+ pages, the readers will find many useful tips applicable to all phases of the North Central Association accreditation process.  They will, however, need to keep in mind that examples will have to be modified or developed to suit building or district needs.