Replication Data for: Does the Meeting Style Matter? The Effects of Exposure to Participatory and Deliberative School Board Meetings

Would public meetings incite more civic engagement if they were structured in ways that are simply more engaging? I addressed this question by conducting an original survey with an oversample of racial and ethnic minorities and individuals from low-income households. The survey featured a randomized experiment in which each study participant was shown a short clip of an actual school board meeting that was either: (1) a standard meeting with no public participation, (2) a meeting with public participation, or (3) a meeting with deliberation (public participation followed by a reasoned response from the school board). The experience of viewing the more participatory and deliberative school board meetings led to increased trust in local officials and a stronger willingness to attend school board meetings in the future. This study has significant implications for civic engagement, local politics, and public school governance.

若公众会议采用更具吸引力的组织形式，是否能够激发更广泛的公民参与？为解答这一问题，本研究开展了一项原创性调研，对少数种族族裔群体及低收入家庭个体实施了过度抽样（oversample）。调研内嵌一项随机实验：每位研究参与者均观看一段真实学区董事会会议的短视频片段，片段分为三种类型：(1) 无公众参与的标准会议；(2) 包含公众参与环节的会议；(3) 包含审议式互动的会议（即先开展公众发言，再由学区董事会给出理性回应）。实验结果显示，观看更具参与性与审议性的学区董事会会议片段后，参与者对地方官员的信任水平显著提升，且未来参与学区董事会会议的意愿显著增强。本研究对公民参与、地方政治及公立学校治理领域均具有重要的学术与实践价值。