Date of Award
8-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Educational Leadership - Higher Education
Committee Chair/Advisor
Michelle Boettcher, PhD
Committee Member
Sonja Ardoin, PhD
Committee Member
Tony Cawthon, PhD
Committee Member
Aja Holmes, PhD
Abstract
Mid-level managers have long been an understudied cross-section of employees within higher education and student affairs literature. Mid-level managers working in residence life units particularly have gone mostly unexamined by researchers and scholars. Despite its importance to the work of student affairs, little is understood about how student affairs practitioners learn how to supervise. Recent studies on supervision have focused on examining new or existing supervision models and how student affairs practitioners do or do not measure up to the models.
Using basic qualitative research design, this dissertation sought to explore how mid-level managers in residence life learned how to supervise entry-level live-in staff. Through semi-structured interviews with five mid-level managers working in reslife, and document review of their position descriptions, this study examined their approach to supervision and the experiences that promoted their development of supervision skills. Using Nichols and Baumgartner’s (2016) Supervisor Learning Journeys Model (SLJM) as a conceptual framework, this study sought to address an existing gap in literature related to mid-level managers and supervision in residence life.
The findings of this study contribute to increasing understanding of the experiences and resources that promote supervision skill development for mid-level managers in reslife. This study addresses a gap in student affairs literature and specifically surrounding residence life. Findings also provide insight into how the field of housing and residence life can better equip mid-level manager to supervise entry-level live-in staff.
Recommended Citation
Graham, Yolande, "“The People Will Say They Did It Themselves”: A Qualitative Analysis Of How Mid-Level Managers In Residence Life Learn To Supervise Entry-Level Full-Time Staff" (2026). All Dissertations. 4316.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4316