Community V. Self-Interest: Citizen Perceptions of Schools as Civic Investments

Some have suggested that the solution to citizen decline in confidence in government is to make public organizations more responsive to citizen demands. But governmental responsiveness can take at least two forms: one focuses on the self-interest of individual citizens and the other focuses on longe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of public administration research and theory 2002-01, Vol.12 (1), p.103-127
Main Authors: Glaser, Mark A., Denhardt, Janet Vinzant, Hamilton, Linda K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citizens
Civic education
Civics
Communities
Community
Community and school
Community Development
Confidence
Education
Finance
Government
Investment
Investment policy
Investment spending
Local government
Perceptions
Political aspects
Public administration
Public education
Public interest
Public investments
Public policy
Public Schools
Self interest
Social aspects
Social participation
U.S.A
United States
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Summary:Some have suggested that the solution to citizen decline in confidence in government is to make public organizations more responsive to citizen demands. But governmental responsiveness can take at least two forms: one focuses on the self-interest of individual citizens and the other focuses on longer-term community interests. This article examines the relative strength of these two sides of responsiveness. Based on the responses of more than seven thousand citizens in an urban community in the Midwest, we found that in many cases community is a moderating influence on self-interest in terms of how citizens view civic investment in public education. These findings suggest that if government can elevate public discourse to focus on schools as civic investments, they will be more successful in engaging the community for the benefit of public education.
ISSN:1053-1858
1477-9803
DOI:10.1093/oxfordjournals.jpart.a003518