Home / Lectures / Carolyn Barnes, Duke University
New Schoolhouses of Democracy: How Nonprofit Social Service Providers Shape Political Behavior among the Poor

Carolyn Barnes, Duke University
Description
Semester:
- Fall 2015
Speakers:
Lecture Time:
Fri, November 6, 2015 @ 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
Lecture Location:
Room R1240, Ross School of Business
Speaker Webpage(s):
https://sanford.duke.edu/people/faculty/barnes-carolyn-yvette
Introduced By:
No introduction available.
Abstract
Scholars suggest that public policies shape political behavior by offering resources and incentives for political action, “resource effects,” and by conveying information and meaning about citizenship, “interpretive effects.” Empirical research has demonstrated the effects of public program participation on client political behavior, but offers less clarity regarding the organizational mechanisms driving feedback effects. Which elements of program design are salient to clients? How do specific elements of design convey messages to clients and or equip clients for political action? Furthermore, the insights of the policy feedback framework have not been applied in the context of nonprofit social service provision, an integral component of the safety net. As venues of publically funded services, what types of lessons do nonprofit social services providers teach about political processes? In this project, I use an in depth organizational ethnography to answer these questions. Using data from 14 staff interviews, 30 in- parent interviews, and field notes from 2 years of participant observations, I build a grounded theory of feedback processes that uncovers how nonprofit program design may inform client program experiences and clients’ broader political behavior outcomes. This chapter explores the resource effects of nonprofit program design. Findings suggest that, in the context of subsidized childcare services, organizational form changes significantly as parents choose different levels of involvement. Program experiences at one organization demonstrate how participatory elements of design such as volunteer, employment, and leadership opportunities equip a select group of low-income parents with a key resource, “civic skills,” which are instrumental to political participation. Further evidence highlights the ways in which this organization structures political activity for low-income parents by facilitating meaningful contact with elected officials.
Recording & Additional Notes
No recordings available.
Introduced by Lindsey Cameron, Management & Organizations