About the Author: Dr. Salsberry is an Associate Professor at Kansas State University in the Department of Educational Administration and Leadership. She teaches courses on strategic leadership and school change and serves as a chair of several school improvement teams in Kansas. She can be reached at tas@ksu.edu.

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

The New Meaning of Educational Change (3rd ed., 2001), Michael Fullan, Teachers College Press, Columbia University. New York, NY. (297 pages). Hardcover price: $25. The book may be ordered from 800-575-6566 or through the on-line book companies.

I like to think of Fullan's book as the equivalent of a 'Handbook of Research on Educational Change' and turn to it frequently to cite examples of what works, where the pitfalls may be, and how the various participants in school change view the process. For teacher leaders and formal administrators, this text is critical in forming a thorough foundation of understanding necessary for school improvement.

This book is the third edition of The Meaning of Educational Change and several conditions are different since the last edition was published in 1991. According to Fullan, the knowledge we now have about change makes the complex process understandable and "amenable to productive action." The heightened interest in educational reform in the 21^st century has led to a new challenge of "achieving large-scale reform grounded in local ownership" (p. xi). We are now much more accurate in our understanding of educational change processes because of the existence of many more change initiatives and the corresponding lessons they taught us.

Fullan organizes his current work around three basic themes (Part I on understanding educational change, Part II on educational change at the local level, and Part III on educational change at the regional and national levels.) Part I outlines the history of educational change and stresses the need for examining the subjective meaning and objective reality of change. Particularly useful are the sections outlining the factors affecting initiation or adoption of a change, implementation of the change process, and finally those factors affecting the continuation or institutionalization of the identified change. The reader could easily use these sections as a framework to analyze past, present, and future initiatives to avoid prior mistakes and to develop more promising approaches for changes currently in place or those being considered. This systematic analysis of the change process would especially assist with the NCA activities surrounding Phase VI (developing the final school improvement plan) and Phase VII (monitoring the implementation of the school improvement plans and documenting student success.) It could also be used both in the early and final phases to establish needs.

Part II contains several chapters, each describing the research and perspective of the participants. It is important to note the range of perspectives addressed. Not only are the teacher and the principal the topic of key chapters but the student, the district administrator, the consultant, and the parent (community) issues are also addressed. Numerous insights can be gained with respect to the implications of change for every participant.

Part III deals with issues related to the government, the professional preparation of teachers, and the professional development of educators and concludes with comments on the future of educational change. Readers will appreciate having a 'platform' of issues to consider and their implications for practice. It can serve as a road map for addressing larger issues and encouraging educators to promote legislative and organizational actions consistent with what research recommends.