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Measuring the Leadership Effectiveness of Resident Assistants
the information from this study and adapt the instrument to their needs. Practically,
student affairs professionals can incorporate this instrument into their own evaluation
processes to better understand the effectiveness of their student staff from the perspective
of student residents. Any form of evaluation will have its limits. Therefore, this
instrument and the student resident perspective should be part of a holistic evaluation
and professional development process.
Residence life professionals can use this instrument to measure student leadership
effectiveness from multiple leadership theories and angles. The result could be
a sophisticated professional development conversation about the strengths and weaknesses
of the resident assistant. For example, a resident assistant who has human resource
leadership scores that are lower than average or lower than those of other staff
or their own previous scores could be coached in how to connect interpersonally with
residents and care for them well. Likewise, a resident assistant with relatively lower
structural leadership scores could receive needed feedback on how to better communicate
and consistently enforce policies. Ultimately, this instrument should primarily be
used for the growth and development of student staff, which will also contribute to the
growth and development of the residents they serve.
Beyond these direct applications, residence life professionals should consider using
this instrument to synergize their selection, hiring, training, and evaluation processes
by applying the conceptual framework to interview procedures, training objectives,
and student staff learning goals. Such synergy could prove useful in making
the conversation consistent across departmental efforts and could provide developing
student leaders with valuable training in effective leadership tied to practical opportunities
for application. Gallos and Bolman (2021) provide an excellent and accessible
resource on how to use the four frames for leadership development and practice in
higher education.
Finally, through the inclusion of a multiple regression analysis on the question of
self-rated resident participation, this study confirms previous research (Arboleda et al.,
2003; Blimling, 2015) suggesting that RAs have a significant impact on residential
student involvement and participation. The link between student involvement and student
success in higher education is well established (Mayhew et al., 2016), and this
study demonstrates how the leadership skills of resident assistants-particularly in
terms of the human resource and symbolic leadership frames-can encourage community
engagement.
The RA is an important symbolic presence that shapes
meaning-making for the students under their care.
Resident assistants are also vital to the representation
of the institution to students.
Volume 51, No. 1 * 2024 51

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