Double standards in identifying child abuse: How stereotypes and uncertainty affect teachers' interpretation

Street-level bureaucrats are characterized with discretionary power as a result of which they develop coping mechanisms. Consequently, street-level bureaucrats are often led by stereotypes, which serve in reducing the uncertainty of a situation. Besides, research indicates that street-level bureaucrats tend to use double standards when interpreting signals from citizens of different social classes. However, whether this is limited to uncertain situations remains unknown. This thesis investigates how double standards affect teachers’ interpretation of child abuse signals, and how information uncertainty plays a role. A qualitative vignette study is used to investigate how teachers interpret child abuse signals from a high social class family and from a low social class family. In addition, it is investigated how the degree of uncertainty of these signals influences the presumed use of double standards by teachers. The analysis shows that teachers indeed use double standards when...Show moreStreet-level bureaucrats are characterized with discretionary power as a result of which they develop coping mechanisms. Consequently, street-level bureaucrats are often led by stereotypes, which serve in reducing the uncertainty of a situation. Besides, research indicates that street-level bureaucrats tend to use double standards when interpreting signals from citizens of different social classes. However, whether this is limited to uncertain situations remains unknown. This thesis investigates how double standards affect teachers’ interpretation of child abuse signals, and how information uncertainty plays a role. A qualitative vignette study is used to investigate how teachers interpret child abuse signals from a high social class family and from a low social class family. In addition, it is investigated how the degree of uncertainty of these signals influences the presumed use of double standards by teachers. The analysis shows that teachers indeed use double standards when interpreting signals of child abuse. When the family belongs to a low social class, the teachers are inclined to take more drastic measures than when the family belongs to a high social class. This difference gets smaller as the degree of uncertainty decreases. Moreover, teachers appear to reason differently about a family from a high social class than about a family from a low social class. Teachers also seem to use double standards for uncertainty, as one bruise is seen as an uncertain signal for a family from a high social class and as a more certain signal for a family from a low social class. In addition, the value teachers attach to a child's statement also seems to influence their interpretation of uncertainty. Finally, teachers experience various obstacles that complicate identifying and reporting child abuse, as a result of which they experience even more uncertainty. This thesis contributes to academic literature on street-level bureaucrats and the double standard theory.Show less

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Double standards in identifying child abuse: How stereotypes and uncertainty affect teachers' interpretation