How Deliberative Culture Shapes Public Evaluations of Local Government

• In Event: Schooling and Democratic Citizenship

Abstract

Do the people make the democracy or does the democracy make the people? Over the past two decades, we have seen a surge in urban cities creating initiatives to employ democratic citizenship for local governance - much of which has used schools as the focus (e.g. local school councils, parent advisory councils, and Local Control Accountability Plan meetings). This work by local governments suggest that institutions can indeed motivate democratic behavior at the local level in route to improving government performance. I test whether having a democratic culture impacts local residents by measuring school evaluations and views toward government for people relocating to a new city. Using three years of Los Angeles public opinion surveys, I find that transplants located in more democratic school districts are just as likely to trust local government and show satisfaction with public schools as longtime district residents. I interpret these findings to suggest that establishing a culture of democratic decision-making leads to a greater trust in local government and more positive evaluations of public schools.

Author

• Jonathan Collins, Brown University