Lesley Farmer, California State University Long Beach
- Dr. Farmer gave a presentation on a study she did on the critical factors that lead to success. She discussed academic preparation, the timeline of the career (the first few years can be difficult), expectations of work, and succession planning.
- Here research focused on teacher-librarians (I’m assuming school media, but I’m not certain.)
- She mentioned three theories that were particularly useful for her research, and they resonated with me: Competency Theory, Change Theory, Contingency Theory of Socialization.
- As professionals grow, they move from a focus on skill and survival to a holistic and deep understanding.
- Found a difference between first year and second year librarians: 1st year want their own task and to prove competencies. After this, then they want to do more interaction/reaching out.
- Really recommended mentoring programs.
- Reasons for leaving: feeling of isolation, prefer working more in-depth with fewer people, lack of control on work, unrealistic job expectations.
- Success predictors: extrovert or service oriented, self confident & risk takers, life long leraning, flexible, communicatiors, value intellectual challenge, like research.
- Academic predictors: education that melds theory and practice, field experience, sense of belonging to profession and site.
- Site predictors: professional, positive, shared vision, culture, collaborative climate, participation in decision-making, administrative support.
- She gave a long list of tips for administrators: professional development, sensitive to first year workload, etc.
This session had audio that was a little difficult to understand, so I might have missed some key points, but that’s the summary! Good session!
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