Browsing by Author "Roberts, Brayden J."

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    The Benefits of Low-Income Students’ Participation in Living Learning Leadership Programs
    (University of Minnesota, 2021) Soria, Krista M.; Roberts, Brayden J.
    Scholars have illuminated significant disparities in higher education degree attainment between college students from low-income and upper-income backgrounds. Instead of increasing social mobility of college students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, structural barriers prohibit many low-income and working-class students from entering into higher education and graduating (Soria, 2015). Sixty percent of students from high socioeconomic status backgrounds earned a bachelor’s degree or higher within eight years compared with 14% of those from low socioeconomic backgrounds (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). While the extant research on the benefits of living in residence halls substantiates the vital role residential life plays in students’ success (Astin, 1993; Blimling, 1989, 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005), the scholarship base about the benefits of on-campus living among students from lower-income backgrounds is underdeveloped (Lopez Turley & Wodkte, 2010), as is research around the impact specifically of living and learning leadership programs. Research on the identities of students from lower-income backgrounds is also relatively absent in living and learning leadership literature, and most scholars fail to take into account the self-selection biases of students who participate in living-learning leadership communities. The purpose of our study is to examine whether participating in a living and learning leadership program might be associated with low-income students’ resilience and sense of belonging. Students’ resilience and belonging are factors commonly associated with low-income students’ persistence and degree attainment in higher education.
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    Leadership On Campus: Prosocial Behavior Benefits for Resident Assistants
    (University of Minnesota, 2021) Soria, Krista M.; Roberts, Brayden J.
    The roles and responsibilities of resident assistants are increasingly complex (Taub et al., 2016). Resident assistants are often first responders to student-related crisis or emergency situations, including those of safety, behavioral, and mental health (Boone et al., 2016). Resident assistants receive many levels of training and professional development and develop a wide range of skills from on-the-job experiences (Benjamin & Davis, 2016). Although resident assistants are slated to receive these developmental benefits from training and experience, the research on learning outcomes and developmental benefits associated with serving as a resident assistant is limited. Though the current research suggests resident assistants may develop outcomes such as interpersonal communication, problem-solving, intercultural, and teamwork skills (Benjamin & Davis, 2016), less is known about the development of resident assistants’ prosocial behaviors, such as their engagement in social change, social generativity, and social perspective taking. Resident assistants are predominantly drawn to the position because of their desire to help others (Boone, 2018). Such evidence provides an opportunity for resident assistants to be better primed to further develop greater prosocial behaviors through their training and experiences. The purpose of this study is to examine whether serving as a resident assistant has an effect on undergraduate students’ prosocial behaviors.
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    Living On Campus: Benefits for First-Generation Students from Low-Income Backgrounds
    (University of Minnesota, 2020) Soria, Krista M.; Roberts, Brayden J.
    The results of this research suggest that first-generation students from low-income backgrounds may experience some benefits from living on campus during their first year of enrollment. Specifically, we found that living on campus is positively associated with students’ feelings of belonging on campus and their resilience. We also found that living on campus was associated with a reduction in students’ beliefs that their campus was discriminatory, hostile, or unwelcoming.
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    Residents Assistants’ Leadership Efficacy
    (University of Minnesota, 2020) Soria, Krista M.; Roberts, Brayden J.
    Resident assistants play an indisputably important role in college and university housing as they help to connect residents with campus resources (Servaty-Seib & Taub, 2010), socialize and develop relationships with other students (Manata et al., 2017; Roland & Agosto, 2017), and integrate within the greater college community (Blimling, 2010). Resident assistants also promote greater university outcomes by facilitating students’ engagement and retention through programming (Soria & Taylor, Jr., 2016), imparting university values, and promoting student learning outcomes (Healea, 2006). Yet, while much is known about how resident assistants contribute to their institutions, little is known about the developmental outcomes resident assistants gain through their experiences (Martin & Blechschmidt, 2014). Specifically, even though leadership is often an implicit expectation or explicit requirement in resident assistants’ position descriptions (Benjamin & Davis, 2016), little is known about the potential for resident assistants to develop leadership outcomes from their paraprofessional training, interpersonal interactions or relationships, and leadership experiences. Researchers have left breadcrumbs pointing toward the potential impact of serving as a resident assistant on students’ leadership efficacy; however, there is still a void in terms of understanding whether serving in a resident assistant capacity itself is associated with leadership efficacy. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether resident assistants have a significantly different leadership efficacy compared to their peers who are not resident assistants.
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    Undergraduates’ Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Disparities by Race and Ethnicity
    (SERU Consortium, University of California - Berkeley and University of Minnesota., 2020) Soria, Krista M.; Roberts, Brayden J.; Horgos, Bonnie; Hallahan, Katie
    The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted students who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC students). The Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Consortium survey was administered from May to July 2020 to 31,687 undergraduate students enrolled at nine large public research universities. Among the respondents, 0.1% were American Indian or Alaska Native (n = 36), 19.9% were Asian (n = 6,301), 4.2% were Black (n = 1,336), 3.7% were Latinx (n = 1,171), 0.1% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (n = 42), 53.4% were White (n = 16,917), 13.1% were multiracial (n = 4,152), and 5.5% had an unknown or unreported race or ethnicity (n = 1,732). According to the results, BIPOC students were more likely to experience academic obstacles in the transition to remote instruction, including lacking access to technology, not being able to attend online class sessions, and lacking access to appropriate study spaces. BIPOC students were also more likely than White students to experience financial hardships, including the loss or reduction of wages from on-campus employment, unexpected increases for living expenses and technology, and loss or reduction of income of family. BIPOC students also experienced higher rates of food and housing insecurity, and were more likely to experience symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. Finally, BIPOC students were less likely than White students to live in places free from emotional or physical abuse, where they felt their identities were respected, and where they felt safe and respected.