IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpd/articl/v2y2019i2jbpa.22.64.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The individual level effect of symbolic representation: An experimental study on teacher-student gender congruence and students’ perceived abilities in math

Author

Listed:
  • Laura Doornkamp

    (Leiden University)

  • Petra Van den Bekerom

    (Leiden University)

  • Sandra Groeneveld

    (Leiden University)

Abstract

Studies on representative bureaucracy have often confirmed the positive performance effects of bureaucracies mirroring the demographic characteristics of their clientele. However, little is known about the underlying individual level mechanisms leading to these outcomes. In this study, theoretical ideas from representative bureaucracy literature and social and educational psychology are combined in a new model that explains effects of passive representation from the perspective of the individual client in the educational field. It is hypothesized that positive effects of gender congruence on students’ academic self-concepts are mediated by gender stereotypical beliefs of students. This mediation is expected to be moderated by the self-confidence of the teacher. Results of a survey experiment among students in a Dutch high school do not support the hypothesized relationships. The study does reveal gender differences in stereotypical beliefs and academic self-concepts though. Furthermore, the academic self-concept for math of both male and female students is higher if the math teacher is a woman. The study concludes with a discussion of the findings and avenues for future research on the role of stereotypical beliefs in the association between gender representation and student performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Doornkamp & Petra Van den Bekerom & Sandra Groeneveld, 2019. "The individual level effect of symbolic representation: An experimental study on teacher-student gender congruence and students’ perceived abilities in math," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 2(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:bpd:articl:v:2:y:2019:i:2:jbpa.22.64
    DOI: 10.30636/jbpa.22.64
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journal-bpa.org/index.php/jbpa/article/download/64/43
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.30636/jbpa.22.64?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Keiser, Lael R. & Wilkins, Vicky M. & Meier, Kenneth J. & Holland, Catherine A., 2002. "Lipstick and Logarithms: Gender, Institutional Context, and Representative Bureaucracy," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 96(3), pages 553-564, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sievert, Martin, 2023. "Sievert (2023): The Limited Impact of Reference Groups’ Symbolic Gender Representation on Willingness to Coproduce," OSF Preprints r2s95, Center for Open Science.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Diana Moreira & Santiago Pérez, 2022. "Who Benefits from Meritocracy?," NBER Working Papers 30113, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Trang Pham & Yung-Yu Tsai, 2024. "The Roles of Faculty Hiring and Retention in Shaping Diversity and Representation in US Higher Education Institutions: A Retrospective and Prospective Analysis from 2001 to 2035," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 65(7), pages 1420-1460, November.
    3. Assadi, Anahita & Lundin, Martin, 2015. "Tenure and street-level bureaucrats: how assessment tools are used at the frontline of the public sector," Working Paper Series 2015:19, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    4. Friedman, Sam, 2022. "Climbing the velvet drainpipe: class background and career progression within the UK Civil Service," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117861, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Hani Nouman & Nissim Cohen, 2023. "When active representation is not enough: ethnic minority street-level workers in a divided society and policy entrepreneurship," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 56(4), pages 777-795, December.
    6. Jaclyn Piatak & Zachary Mohr, 2019. "More gender bias in academia? Examining the influence of gender and formalization on student worker rule following," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 2(2).
    7. Zuzana Murdoch & Jarle Trondal & Benny Geys, 2016. "Representative bureaucracy and seconded national government officials in the European Commission," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(4), pages 335-349, December.
    8. Kendall Funk, 2019. "If the shoe fits: Gender role congruity and evaluations of public managers," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 2(1).
    9. Xuhong Su & Barry Bozeman, 2016. "Family Friendly Policies in STEM Departments: Awareness and Determinants," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 57(8), pages 990-1009, December.
    10. Jussila Hammes, Johanna, 2013. "Civil servants’ education and the representativeness of the bureaucracy in environmental policy-making," Working papers in Transport Economics 2013:30, CTS - Centre for Transport Studies Stockholm (KTH and VTI).
    11. García-Sánchez, Isabel-María & Suárez-Fernández, Oscar & Martínez-Ferrero, Jennifer, 2019. "Female directors and impression management in sustainability reporting," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 359-374.
    12. Walter R. Mebane & Jasjeet S. Sekhon, 2004. "Robust Estimation and Outlier Detection for Overdispersed Multinomial Models of Count Data," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 48(2), pages 392-411, April.
    13. SeoYoun Choi, 2018. "Bureaucratic characteristics and citizen trust in civil service in OECD member nations," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 21(2), pages 114-133, June.
    14. Sangeeta Goel, 2014. "‘Bureaucratic Attitudes’—an Intermediary Variable of Policy Performance," Vision, , vol. 18(4), pages 299-308, December.
    15. Kristin Kanthak & George A. Krause, 2011. "Coordination dilemmas and the valuation of women in the U.S. Senate: Reconsidering the critical mass problem," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 23(2), pages 188-214, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Stereotypes; Stereotypical beliefs; Gender congruence; Academic self-concepts; Passive representation; Symbolic representation; Education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • Z00 - Other Special Topics - - General - - - General
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bpd:articl:v:2:y:2019:i:2:jbpa.22.64. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sebastian Jilke (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://journal-bpa.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.