All the Best Intentions: Graduate Student Administrative Professional Development in Practice

Abstract

Many directors recognize that mentoring benefits them as much as it does their mentees, and many graduate student administrators (GSAs) appreciate the role that directors play in preparing them for their future careers. At the same time, however, these directors' good intentions don't always suffice, especially when would-be mentors juggle increasing responsibilities in the face of static or decreasing resources. Both composition studies and writing center studies have slowly been responding to the calls for increased attention to administrative professional development, both in local contexts and in scholarship. For example, Julie Eckerle, Shevaun Watson, and the author draw on their empirical study of GSA position to argue that "three components of graduate administrative training--hands-on experience, reflection, analysis, and participation in professional communities--(be) integrated into substantive and sustainable training programs." Despite the numerous studies which made important contributions to the literature on administrative professional development, there remains much work to be done. Thus, in this article, the author seeks to build on and extend this work, particularly Eckerle, Rowan, and Watson's study. First, she reviews the literature on mentorship in academia. Next, she describes her study design and research methods, particularly the survey section devoted to academic professional development activities. After describing her study design and research methods, she then describes and interprets data about participants' experiences with administrative professional development. By way of conclusion, she offers recommendations for closing that gap by making their approaches to professional development more explicit and by engaging in further research about the practices and outcomes of administrative professional development.