Separating symbolic and active representation: a mixed methods study of gender and education in China

Abstract

Bureaucracies representative of the public can affect programme outcomes either through active representation by bureaucrats or symbolic representation via changes in client behaviour. Separating out these different aspects of representation requires understanding the interaction of bureaucrats and clients which is difficult using only quantitative data. Using individual-level quantitative analysis of Chinese education data, we find gender representation exists. Qualitative interviews of teachers, students and school principals, however, indicate that the effects are most likely not from active representation but rather via the symbolic representation through role-model effects.

Interrogating hegemonic embraces: Representative bureaucracy, methodological Whiteness, and non‐West exclusions

“…A fourth consideration is more nuanced. While there is research on representative bureaucracy, effectiveness, and public-citizen exchanges (Nicholson-Crotty et al, 2017;Xu & Meier, 2021), we have not concluded discussions on whether passive representation should normatively become, or is obliged to become active or symbolic representation, and if so, how? The assumption that one's group identifier(s) should be activated via group-reflective interactions with policy tasks requires further exploration.…”

“…Passive representation is “whether demographic and/or socioeconomic characteristics (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, class) of bureaucrats reflect those of the clients they serve” (Abner et al, 2017, p. 147). Active representation is when “bureaucrats act to help clients who share similar identities,” while symbolic representation refers to “the generation of trust, the willingness of the client to coproduce goods, or the adoption of the bureaucrat as a role model” (Xu & Meier, 2021, p. 1). As Abner et al (2017) articulated, passive representation often occurs before active and symbolic representation may appear.…”

Representative Bureaucracy, Environmental Turbulence, and Organizational Performance

“…Theories of representative bureaucracy argue that having bureaucrats who share the same identities with clients would benefit those clients (Keiser et al, 2002;Wilkins and Keiser, 2006). Scholars have found evidence of the positive effects of active and symbolic representation in multiple policy areas and national contexts by using qualitative interviews and quantitative datasets (Keiser et al, 2002;Meier and Nicholson-Crotty, 2006;Song, 2018;Wilkins and Keiser, 2006;Xu and Meier, 2021). Recent literature on representative bureaucracy has explored the environmental, organizational, and client features that can promote or detract from representational effects (An et al, 2021;Hawes, 2022;McCrea, 2021).…”

“…The presence of school principals from minority groups will help improve the outcomes of students from those minority groups through active and/or symbolic representation. Although a rich literature on representative bureaucracy has examined how minority street-level bureaucrats and teachers in education represent minority students through direct interactions between teachers and students (see Keiser et al, 2002; Song, 2018; Xu and Meier, 2021), minority school principals could also represent minority students through both forms of representation. Minority school principals could make managerial decisions, such as bringing changes in school programs and funding allocations, a form of active representation.…”

“…We include the percentage of teachers in a school who are African American and the percentage of teachers who are Latino. School teachers, as street-level bureaucrats, who share the same identities with students can also bring positive effects through representation (Keiser et al, 2002; Song, 2018; Xu and Meier, 2021). The teacher turnover rate is included in the models, as research has shown how turnover can impact student performance (Meier and Hicklin, 2007).…”