Jody Isernhagen and Jackie Florendo received the Howard A. Dawson Best Research Paper Award from the National Rural Education Association. The paper, “Administrators’ Perceptions of Early Childhood Education,” was based on findings from Florendo’s dissertation.

Isernhagen is an associate professor of educational administration. Florendo earned her Doctor of Education in educational administration in December 2012. She is now a coordinator the Alliance for Kids, an initiative of the Early Childhood Council serving Colorado Springs, Colo. She is also an adjunct instructor in early childhood education at Doane College.

The award was presented at the Rural Education Association’s convention and research symposium in October in Branson, Mo.

The study examined school administrators’ perceptions about pre-K programming, knowledge of research, understanding of curriculum and availability of resources. Recommendations from the research included training for superintendents and elementary principals about the benefits of pre-K education and community outreach on the same topic.

The Howard Dawson Award, sponsored by the Howard A. Dawson Foundation, is presented to the author(s) of the paper that is judged to be the best research paper submitted for the National Rural Education Association’s annual research symposium.