“Here, instead of rhetoric, we are allowed to stand beside our colleagues and watch how they used schoolwide collaborative action research to build internal capacity through developing informed, distributed leadership. . . . I learned something about how to support the work I value, and I believe you will also.”
—From the Foreword by Emily F. Calhoun, Director, The Phoenix Alliance

“Readers will learn, through the vividly portrayed lived experiences of school people, the indispensable benefits of action research. This volume is a guidebook for all educators interested in renewing schools.”
—Jeffrey Glanz, Yeshiva University

"It is not often that we find a resource that couples the voices of researchers and practitioners into one powerful performance. . . . For school leaders, college professors, and teacher leaders this work is an essential resource.”
—Zach Kelehear, College of Education, University of South Carolina

“The accounts of those who have taken this journey offer not only practical advice, but also rich explanations that shape a new understanding of collaborative action research.”
—Patricia Holland, University of Houston

“This is a tremendous resource. . . . I look forward to discussing the many engaging ideas with my graduate students and to recommending it to the practitioners with whom I interact.”
—Daisy Arredondo Rucinski, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

This timely book describes the work of the School Improvement Network, a partnership in which university professors and graduate students collaborated with K–12 school leaders and teachers to design, implement, and assess schoolwide action research projects focused on long-term school improvement. Presenting a comprehensive model, this resource can be used as an orientation to what action research is all about and as a map to guide participants through the process of action research.

Describing the role of both the university and the school, this book:

• Explores critical aspects of collaborative action, including establishing relationships, using critical friends, developing leadership teams, readiness, organization, and implementation.
• Provides lessons learned from successful and unsuccessful programs, to show schools what to do and what to avoid.
• Examines schools in Texas that have used action research to improve student achievement within a standards-based environment.

Contributors: Michael Boone • Barbara Davis • Julie Diehl • Iris Escandón • Miguel A. Guajardo • Marla W. McGhee • Sarah W. Nelson • Jane Ross • Charles L. Slater • John Smyth • Suzanne M. Stiegelbauer.

Stephen P. Gordon is Professor of Education and Community Leadership at Texas State University–San Marcos.