The Structure of Public Confidence in Education

Abstract

Recent studies indicate that Americans have lost faith in public schools. Polls trace a steady decline of confidence in the educational system, a decline extending over the past two decades. The general trend masks two anomalies, howevez. First,

Public Confidence in Charitable Nonprofits

“…2 Second, answering the public trust question requires attention to behavioral as well as attitudinal data-what people do as well as what they say to pollsters. As Loveless (1997) noted, behavior is "a vote of confidence or no confidence" in an institution (p. 152). Approaching the question of public trust in charities through both behavioral and attitudinal data can lessen the limitations of each.…”

“…3 Whatever the reasons, the general decline of trust provides an illuminating context within which to view trends in trust in particular institutions. As Loveless (1997) said, "The simultaneous rise and fall of confidence in vastly dissimilar organizations suggests the existence of suprainstitutional influences on the public mood" (p. 138).…”

Public Service Performance and Trust in Government: The Problem of Causality

“…[6,15,20,22,[36][37][38] By generalization, we mean that the attitude towards government refers to one amorphous unity. There seems to be a common factor behind the evaluations of all institutions that are related to ''government.''…”

“…Customer surveys indeed show that citizens are able to assess the performance of public services in an objective way, without constantly referring to stereotypes. [37] Hibbing and Theiss-Morse speak about Fenno's paradox: in surveys, people are positive about specific members of Congress (i.e., their own member), but take a negative attitude towards Congress as an institute. The observation that people are very critical of government and its service delivery in everyday speech (e.g., gossip, discussions in pubs etc.…”

Uneasy Allies: The Evolving Relationship of School and State

“…The reaction of practitioners to reform carries little weight. The impact of reform on the public's attachments to schools is rarely anticipated, and the school's political legitimacy goes unguarded (Loveless, 1997). Because policy analysts attempt to inform decision-makers about the projected costs and benefits of a given proposal, a full accounting of political costs must be made.…”