Passive and active representation of women in Texas public education

Organizational Behaviors

The current study focuses on the relation that exists between passive and active representation that exists across organizations and analyzes how it is based on race as opposed to sex or gender. The reason behind the need for this study was that previous studies had not focused on the influences that contextual environment have on gender preferences that instigate active representation in the bureaucratic setup. The researchers create a theoretical framework that focuses on the factors that create passive representation trends in active representation for gender or sex and then the paper goes forward with testing this framework within the educational standards in Texas. The researchers concluded that passive representation of women within the domain of education resulted in active representation. They also concluded that the institutional framework has a direct and strong influence on the expansive nature of the relation between passive and active representation.

Research Question

There was a theoretical framework created in this study whereby the structures that allowed a variance in diversity were analyzed to see if they influenced the organizational outputs and performance levels. Furthermore, the study also tested if the aspect passive representation of women within the realm of education had an influence on the overall academic performance of the female students.

Theories

The primary theories tackled in this research included: the representative bureaucracy theory, the feminist theory of sex, gender and identification, the feminist theory of sex, gender and institutions as well as the notion of critical mass.

Research Design

The research design was based on analyzing the standardized bi-annual tests within chosen high school districts in Texas. This was the chosen region because of two primary reasons: one, the tests allowed the team to analyze the test results based on sex; and two, the chosen school had a wide variety of students from different racial backgrounds, ethnicities, classes, social and geographic locations, etc. The chosen pool of population included 607 high schools districts and the results they attained between the years 1995-1998. The only tests excluded from the study were eighth grade math tests. Variables were used. Independent and dependent variables were used in the Texas schools setting to conduct current data collection structures and the controlled variables were used for the pooled data. The statistical tool used for analysis was regression analysis across all independent, dependent and controlled variables.

Results

Some of the major findings of this study are listed below:

The structure of public education is on par for the shift from passive representation to active representation for women

The rise of passive representation for female teachers is simultaneously related to increased academic performances and opportunities for girls

The increased passive representation of women in bureaucracy directly influences the policies that are made thereof for the women

The relation between passive and active representation has the potential to exist for both the gender as well as the race of an individual

Diversity in a corporation can lead to fair opportunities

Affirmative action is advantageous for middle-class women only

Increasing workplace gender diversity can result in implications for women outside of the middle-class as well