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The long-term effects of having served as a Resident Assistant/Counselor on college undergraduates: A study of University of Massachusetts alumni from the classes of 1954-1973
Abstract
Most research efforts have focused on the assessment of a limited number of dimensions of student growth across entire student bodies or representative samples of all students. One group that has not been sufficiently studied are the Resident Assistants who staff residence halls. The purpose of this study is to provide outcomes-related information on Resident Assistants. Three research questions have been formulated: (1) Will Resident Assistant alumni attribute their post-graduate choices to the R.A. role? (2) Will Resident Assistant alumni as a group demonstrate high involvement with activities similar to those with which they were engaged as R.A.s? (3) Will Resident Assistant alumni recall their R.A. experiences and be able to cite specific experiences which demonstrate how the role affects life choices? The literature for this study is divided into four parts. The first will trace the development of the Resident Assistant from proctor to peer helper. The second unit of the literature review focuses on the theories associated with student development. A third section outlines the literature available on outcomes assessment. The final part of the literature review consists of a brief discussion of survey research principles. The study findings are presented in six sections. The first section focuses on satisfaction with the R.A. experience. The following three sections address the three major variables of this study. The fifth section presents additional findings concerning influence on academic performance. The sixth section provides a discussion of research question 2. Several questionnaire items allowed for open-ended responses. This study shows that students appear to have migrated to the Residents Assistant role for various reasons. Many chose to pursue educationally-related careers and reported that they perceived this role as appropriate grounding to their future vocational interests. Another half sought this role for other reasons including financial, authoritarian and altruistic reasons. Further, the results reveal that a small subset of the R.As were influenced to alter their career interests as a result of the experience but that most were not. Regardless of influence on career decisions, most reported having been affected personally by the experience.
Subject Area
Higher education|Educational psychology|School counseling
Recommended Citation
Moneta, Laurence, "The long-term effects of having served as a Resident Assistant/Counselor on college undergraduates: A study of University of Massachusetts alumni from the classes of 1954-1973" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9132887.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9132887