University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Do Resident Advisors' Perceptions of Their Jobs Vary From One Residence Hall to Another?

Gonzalez-Brennan, Ashley

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Description

Title
Do Resident Advisors' Perceptions of Their Jobs Vary From One Residence Hall to Another?
Author(s)
Gonzalez-Brennan, Ashley
Issue Date
2005-12-15
Keyword(s)
  • Student Housing
  • Residence Halls
  • Race
  • Ethnicity
  • Gender
Abstract
This project aims to answer the following questions: How do resident advisors perceptions about their jobs differ from individual to individual, and from one residence hall to another? How do expectations correlate with experiences? What were their initial expectations of their jobs and of the university, and how do they compare to the actual experience? How do race and gender affect their experiences as an RA; as a university student? Do race and gender of the staff/ boss/ residents serve as a barrier, benefit, or neither, to their perceived effectiveness as an RA? What do they hope to gain/give being an RA? How have their RA experiences shaped their overall perspectives of the university? On the basis of eight interviews with resident advisors, the study finds that the RAs had overall rather positive perceptions of their jobs. Race was much more of a concern for the African American resident advisors than it was for resident advisors of other ethnicities. The Caucasian females and males did not see race as an issue that negatively impacted them. Everyone was in favor of promoting multicultural sensitivity, but the two African American women considered it as a way to improve their jobs.
Type of Resource
text
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/1899

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Diversity on Campus/Equity and Access PRIMARY
This collection examines ways in which the U.S. university and the American college experience are affected by diversity, and difference. In particular, these student projects examine experiences of diversity on campus, including important contemporary social, cultural, and political debates on equity and access to university resources.
Student Communities and Culture
The university offers an extraordinary opportunity to study and document student communities, life, and culture. This collection includes research on the activities, clubs, and durable social networks that comprise sometimes the greater portion of the university experience for students.