Symbolic Representation, Cooperation, and Undocumented Immigrants: The Role of Representation in Improving Assessments of Cooperative Behaviors in Education

• Published date: 01 November 2021
• Date: 01 November 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/02750740211031928
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740211031928

American Review of Public Administration

© The Author(s) 2021

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Introduction

For more than 50 years, scholars of public administration

have studied representative bureaucracy and how it can

produce more efficient, effective, and equitable outcomes

for citizens, particularly those who lack representation in

political institutions. This article focuses on an increasingly

salient subset of individuals who receive public services

but who largely lack representation in our bureaucratic and

political systems, namely, undocumented immigrants. As

undocumented immigrants lack direct political representa-

tion (i.e., they cannot vote or hold many public offices),

bureaucratic representation provides a particularly mean-

ingful substitute for the benefits of representation within

public institutions.

Specifically, I examine whether passive representation can

produce symbolic representation for undocumented students

and their families in a public education setting. I examine a

relatively new concept within public administration—sym-

bolic representation—which focuses on how bureaucratic

passive representation can change not only the behavior of

bureaucrats (i.e., active representation) but also the behavior

of citizens. As discussed below, symbolic representation con-

tends that passive representation within bureaucracies can lead

to greater trust, efficacy, and cooperation among represented

citizens. This then can result in cooperative behaviors in citi-

zens that can lead to better public policy outcomes for these

groups. This article proposes that such cooperative behaviors

among undocumented immigrants will be lower when the

schools they attend have lower levels of passive representa-

tion. Using data from Texas public schools, I find that the

relationship between undocumented students and reported

cooperative behaviors is conditional on the level of passive

representation.

Representative Bureaucracy

Bureaucratic representation has traditionally been sepa-

rated into two sorts: passive and active. Passive representa-

tion “concerns the source of origin of individuals and the

degree to which, collectively, they mirror the society”

(Mosher, 1968, p. 12). Active representation occurs when

1031928ARPXXX10.1177/02750740211031928The American Review of Public AdministrationHawes

research-article2021

1Kent State University, OH, USA

Corresponding Author:

Daniel P. Hawes, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.

Email: dhawes2@kent.edu

Symbolic Representation, Cooperation, and

Undocumented Immigrants: The Role of

Representation in Improving Assessments

of Cooperative Behaviors in Education

Daniel P. Hawes1

Abstract

This article explores how symbolic representation can increase behaviors associated with cooperation among immigrants in

an educational setting. It posits that, due to a lack of trust and efficacy in public institutions, undocumented immigrants are less

likely to engage in activities that are conducive to cooperation and compliance. However, this relationship is conditional on

the presence of passive representation. In settings where immigrant interests are represented, even passively, immigrants are

more likely to engage in cooperative behaviors. Using data from Texas school districts, the analysis finds some support that

passive representation can enhance symbolic representation among this population. It finds that assessments of immigrants’

cooperative behaviors are likely to decrease as the size of the undocumented student population increases. However, this is

only the case in schools with low levels of representation. This supports the expectation that symbolic representation can

enhance assessments of cooperative behaviors among undocumented immigrants.

Keywords

representative bureaucracy, symbolic representation, immigration, education, cooperation, coproduction, undocumented

students

2021, Vol. 51(8) 605–618