Resident Assistant Training Design: A Narrative Analysis

摘要

The Resident Assistant (RA) position is arguably the most demanding and time-intensive student leadership position on a university campus with responsibilities that include crisis management, counseling, referral, administrative tasks, teaching, leadership, community building, individual student assistance and role modeling (Blimling, 2003). The critical functions of the Resident Assistant role necessitate training with appropriate breadth and depth to prepare them for their role; "because of the importance of the RA role, high quality and effective training is imperative" (Taub & Servaty-Seib, 2011, p.13).;This qualitative narrative study examined the experiences of five residence life practitioners whose experience with Resident Assistant training design ranged from 9-17 years. Participants each represented different institution types including a specialized institution of higher education, a large public institution, a small private religiously- affiliated institution, a mid-sized public institution and a gender-specific institution. Each participant was interviewed twice and data were analyzed using holistic, in vivo and evaluative coding.;The analysis produced five primary research-based themes for Resident Assistant training design with an additional twenty-five sub-themes. These primary themes included holistic approach to the training design process, training session considerations within training design, alignment of training to the unique needs of the Resident Assistants receiving the training, logistical considerations in training design and use of assessment in training design.;Holistically, these considerations provide a robust set of items that training designers can reflect on and assess in their training design process to maximize opportunities and thoroughly prepare a well-designed Resident Assistant training. Additional recommendations include future research opportunities and the suggestion that a maintained inventory of research-based findings for Resident Assistant training could provide a professional standard for the assessment and development of Resident Assistant training and a useful tool for current higher education professionals working with Resident Assistant training design.