Conceptualizing stereotype articulation in frontline work

Abstract In this article, we develop a conceptual framework for understanding and analyzing what we call stereotype articulation—the practice and process of expressing and conveying stereotypes in social interactions. Building the theoretical insights from analysis of empirical material from an ethnographic study of encounters between schoolteachers and pupils in Danish schools, we find school teachers articulate stereotypes about groups of students in different forms and contexts, and that the stereotype takes form from the social space in which it is articulated and the task to which it is directed. We suggest a conceptual framework to understand stereotype articulations focusing on the form, task, and social space in which the articulation is performed. In doing so, we shift the analytical focus from individual cognitive processes to the interactional dynamics through which stereotypes are expressed, negotiated, and experienced. This approach offers new insights into how stereotypes are constructed and sustained within street-level bureaucracies, and how they contribute to patterns of inequality in public service encounters.