“Giving Them Grace”: Lived Experiences of Resident Advisors and Inclusion Assistants in the Social Justice Residential Curriculum

The adoption of curricular approaches to strengthen student learning is spreading rapidly in student affairs. Because residence halls are the spaces where on-campus students spend most of their time, the development and implementation of the Residential Curriculum Model (RCM) throughout the United States is worthy of exploration. Many RCMs have social justice and inclusion learning outcomes, and resident advisors and inclusion assistants provide direct delivery of the curriculum, thus serving a pivotal role in the learning process. In order to inform training and supervisory practice, this hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of resident advisors and inclusion assistants involved in the delivery of a residential curriculum model, with a particular focus on resident interactions related to social justice and diversity outcomes. Specific observations were made of resident advisor and inclusion assistant self-efficacy, their recognition of residents’ developmental differences, the influence of their identities on their social justice role, and their learning experiences. Recommendations for practitioners developing the residential curriculum model and for hiring, training, and supervising the residential staff in these communities, along with social justice and inclusion learning goals, are provided.