Date of Award
2023
Degree Name
Leadership Studies
College
College of Education and Professional Development
Type of Degree
Ed.D.
Document Type
Dissertation
First Advisor
Dr. Feon Smith, Committee Chairperson
Second Advisor
Dr. Eugenia Lambert
Third Advisor
Dr. Keisha Kibler
Abstract
The Resident Assistant (RA) position is the foundational role in the student affairs staffing structure. RA job description has expanded exponentially since the earliest iterations (Boone et al., 2016). The selection of RAs presents unique challenges because it is costly, requires a lot of staff, typically draws a large candidate pool, and candidates are usually professionally immature. This combination of challenges and the extensive job description requires thoughtful consideration when an institution develops their selection process. Successful RAs have strong interpersonal skills, commonly referred to as soft skills. Soft skills are commonly assessed during interviews via the use of behavioral interview where past behavior is used to reliably predict future performance (Altmaier et al., 1992). Behavioral interview techniques are not standard in RA selection processes due to innate inter-rater reliability issues. This study used ex post facto research design to assess inter-rater reliability across undergraduate, graduate, and professional level staff tasked to administer RA interviews at a mid-sized public institution that fully integrated behavioral interview techniques into the RA interview process. Additionally, pre- and post-integration effects related to housing student retention, incident reporting, RA retention, and RA performance were compared. Results of the inter-rater reliability analysis showed that by year three, post-integration, there was no significant difference between how the different levels of staff were scoring RA candidate interview responses. RA performance evaluation scores significantly improved in RAs hired post-integration and encouraging trends were observed in RA retention, incident reporting, and housing student retention compared to the academic years prior to behavioral interview integration. This study highlights the advantages and applicability of behavioral interview techniques in RA selection practices and the potential RAs selected under these practices have in positively effecting other aspects of campus life when executing job responsibilities.
Subject(s)
Interviews.
Resident assistants (Dormitories)
Student affairs services.
Recommended Citation
Sommers, Karen, "Post-integration effects of behavioral interview techniques in the Resident Assistant selection process" (2023). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 1893.
https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/1893
