Kent and Kleemeier Award Lecture and Presentations

The Robert W. Kleemeier Award lecture will feature an address by the 2020 Kleemeier Award recipient, Matt Kaeberlein, PhD, FGSA, of the University of Washington. The Kleemeier Award is given annually to a member of The Gerontological Society of America in recognition for outstanding research in the field of gerontology. The Donald P. Kent Award lecture will feature an address by the 2020 Kent Award recipient, David Ekerdt, Phd, FGSA, of the University of Kansas. The Kent Award is given annually to a member of The Gerontological Society of America who best exemplifies the highest standards of professional leadership in gerontology through teaching, service, and interpretation of gerontology to the larger society.

An Examination of Principal Professional Development and its Alignment to Professional Standards and Professional Development Constructs

Principals need and require specific professional development that is rigorous, effective, and aligned to professional leadership standards and effective professional development constructs. This case study examined the professional development strategies, and practices, used by school districts and their alignment to the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (CPSEL) and effective professional development constructs. School district administrators and principals representing the Southern San Joaquin Valley, a predominantly rural area of California, participated in this research via interviews and focus groups. This research is critical as rural areas are often underrepresented in educational research. The findings indicate a lack of intentional alignment of principal professional development with professional standards and professional development constructs. The findings call for districts to take an intentional approach to principal development that is aligned with these frameworks to ensure principals are provided with effective and rigorous support for their educational leadership, growth, and development.

Professional Development in a Rural Cluster of Schools

<p>This study investigated a model of professional development that has been developed by the principals of a cluster of six New Zealand rural schools. It explored the reasons why the principals chose this model of self initiated professional development, how professional development was achieved and the factors that sustained it. Data were gathered using a variety of tools, including interviews with the principals and an external professional development provider, observations, a survey and a limited historical documentation search. Results indicated that the need for regular social and professional interaction with other principals who work in similar communities was highly valued by all participants. They believed that they were unique and capable of providing professional leadership and collegial support for their cluster. The change from meeting for organizing sporting events to providing relevant professional development was strongly influenced by a mentoring contract offered by the Ministry of Education. Implications for the provision of professional development specifically for rural schools and their learning communities are discussed and suggest that the principals of rural schools have specific needs. Their professional development should include opportunities for social and professional interaction with cooperative decisions and activities initiated by them.</p>

Professional Development in a Rural Cluster of Schools

<p>This study investigated a model of professional development that has been developed by the principals of a cluster of six New Zealand rural schools. It explored the reasons why the principals chose this model of self initiated professional development, how professional development was achieved and the factors that sustained it. Data were gathered using a variety of tools, including interviews with the principals and an external professional development provider, observations, a survey and a limited historical documentation search. Results indicated that the need for regular social and professional interaction with other principals who work in similar communities was highly valued by all participants. They believed that they were unique and capable of providing professional leadership and collegial support for their cluster. The change from meeting for organizing sporting events to providing relevant professional development was strongly influenced by a mentoring contract offered by the Ministry of Education. Implications for the provision of professional development specifically for rural schools and their learning communities are discussed and suggest that the principals of rural schools have specific needs. Their professional development should include opportunities for social and professional interaction with cooperative decisions and activities initiated by them.</p>

Jokering Bodies

This article brings forth the difficulties and possibilities of enacting the role of “Joker” from Boal’s (1979) Joker System—formerly called the poetics of the oppressed. The authors acknowledge jokering as an apprehensive performance of brokering, of bodies that matter and are matter, that can provoke anti-oppressive actions and reinscribe oppressions. As such, four backdrops are engaged to further the methodological, theoretical, and curricular/pedagogical force of jokering as a performance that unsettles the status quo: Latina/Chicana feminist theories used in mentoring, performance-based action research with middle-school students, professional leadership development for schools, and socio-technological analysis with theatre in online/distance education. Each example from our praxis illustrates how the roles of emerging researcher, mentor-researcher, and researcher-practitioner are performed and troubled (jokered) from different disciplinary and theoretical perspectives to foster social justice praxis and outcomes.

Impact of motivation and job satisfaction on turnover: A case study of food additives producer Company

In the current working environment, employee turnover focused as the main issue found in almost many organizations. Employees are the key to a company's productions and services. When employees are taken good care of by focusing on their needs, they will bring up the company’s performance. However, the increasing percentage of employee turnover makes the company pay more attention to motivation and job satisfaction. Thus, an organization strongly thinks that employee motivation and job satisfaction should reduce the employee turnover rate. This action research was conducted to analyze the current factors influencing motivation and job satisfaction that brings to turnover intention. This research also suggests professional leadership training as a planned intervention towards this company. This research was focused on estimating the outcome of the planned intervention to reduce employee turnover intention in the Company. This action research study was conducted using two frameworks which are Social Exchange Theory and Theory Planned Behaviors. The methodology used in this research was a mixed-method approach by taking two interviews with managers (Qualitative approach), while a questionnaire survey (Quantitative Approach) was conducted with 35 respondents. Thematic Analysis and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) were utilized to analyze the data. Before the intervention, motivation and job satisfaction among employees were evaluated as low, and turnover intention was high based on an interview with managers and pre-survey results. The positive effects of the professional leadership training as intervention organized in the Company initiated are notable in thematic analysis and post-training survey results retrieved from employees. Based on the research, professional leadership training will be recommended for future researchers.