Students’ and Parents’ Perceptions of Disciplinary Policy: Does Symbolic Representation Matter?
研究利用纽约市学校调查数据，发现严格的纪律处分会降低学生和家长对纪律公平性的感知，但师生种族匹配（象征性代表）能缓解这种负面效应。
This article examines the effects of symbolic representation and strict disciplinary policy on how students and their parents perceive school discipline. We use data from the 2011-2012 New York City School Survey, combined with data on disciplinary actions from the Office of Civil Rights. Our results suggest that strict disciplinary actions send negative messages to students and their parents about school discipline. We find that as more strict disciplinary actions are administered within a school, students are less likely to perceive discipline as fair or legitimate. The negative effects of disciplinary actions, however, tend to be smaller in schools for which there is a closer racial match between students and teachers and, consequently, a greater likelihood of symbolic representation. We also find that passive representation influences parents’ attitudes toward school discipline in their children’s schools.