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Measuring the Leadership Effectiveness of Resident Assistants
came from select undergraduate students who would augment the current services offered
by full-time professional staff and would, in return, gain benefits such as leadership
experience, professional development, and compensation in the form of housing,
meals, and stipends (Shaffer & Greenleaf, 1965). This was accompanied by, in the late
1960s and early 1970s, effective methods to hire, train, and understand undergraduate
residential student staff positions. Wotruba (1969) concluded that " student helpers can
be useful in obtaining the goals of higher education . . . If educators are to maximize the
potential of college residence halls, they must select effective RAs " (p. 111).
Almost as soon as the utilization of undergraduate students in paraprofessional
roles became the norm on college and university campuses, researchers became interested
in evaluating resident assistant performance. Wotruba (1969) used a mix of
inventories and instruments in a study of resident assistant effectiveness, revealing
that, in general, they strove higher for achievement, sought out friendships, and were
receptive to leadership opportunities. They were less inclined to allow others to make
decisions for them and were less interested in being the center of attention. However,
this work was conducted more than 50 years ago on a single campus, examined only
men, and did not analyze the reliability or construct validity of the instruments utilized.
Several studies attempted to present workable models for evaluating RAs and
their work. Atkinson and colleagues (1973) examined the usefulness of the Personal
Orientation Inventory (POI) in evaluating resident assistants and attempted to correlate
personality traits from the inventory with RA performance. Residents were
asked to rate their RA across six responsibilities: promoting self-responsibility with
residents, providing social and educational growth experiences, encouraging a community
spirit, role modeling for residents, referring students to appropriate resources,
and providing interpersonal counseling. The same inventory was also completed
by the resident assistants' supervisors. However, results from the study, " contrary to
findings in earlier studies, do not support use of the POI as an instrument for selecting
effective resident assistants " (Atkinson et al., 1973, p. 330). This study helped to
end speculation that only particular personality traits can result in effectiveness as a
resident assistant.
A later study used a 13-item Performance Evaluation Form (PEF) developed by
a residence life department (Eichenfield et al., 1988) for residents to evaluate their
RA using a 7-point Likert scale across several variables, such as being available, informed,
and concerned; setting a good example; and motivating students. Though the
instrument did not prove significant in determining effectiveness, Eichenfield and
colleagues (1988) emphasized that " the selection and training of residence hall staff
may be the single most important function housing officers undertake " (p. 34). More
recently, Blimling (2015) asserted that " the selection and training of these students are
no less important than finding the right residence life professionals to lead student
learning in the residence halls " (p. 178). Moreover, as part of the Council for the Advancement
of Standards in Higher Education guidelines (CAS, 2017) for housing and
42 The Journal of College and University Student Housing

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