The Ongoing Debate on Chinese Primary Education: A Framing Analysis of Malaysian Newspapers

Q2 Social Sciences

Asia Pacific Media Educator Pub Date : 2020-06-01 DOI:10.1177/1326365X20945416

O. Wen, I. Chibundu, Siah Poh Chua

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引用次数: 4

Abstract

In Malaysia, Chinese vernacular education has been a highly contested and much debated political issue in the mass media. This study examines how Malaysian newspapers framed Chinese primary education for a 3-year period (2015–2017) which is before the 2018 election. Findings showed that, the proximity of election has led to a surge in news reporting about Chinese primary education. Political considerations remain central in mainstream newspapers’ reporting in which official sources are dominant in shaping public understanding of the issue. Alternative newspapers serve as a counter-establishment platform through active participation of readers in public debate. A responsibility frame dominates the news coverage of Chinese primary education in both types of newspapers. Nevertheless, the alternative newspapers tend to focus on the conflict aspect of the issue by foregrounding discord between ruling and opposition politicians as well as intra-Barisan Nasional (BN) disputes. Through human interest frame, the mainstream newspapers emotionalize the issue to obtain readers’ attention. This study concludes that varying reporting strategies adopted by Malaysian newspapers can impact readers’ evaluation of education policy issues. The implications of the findings and the limitations of the study are also discussed.

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中国小学教育的持续争论:马来西亚报纸的框架分析

在马来西亚，中文白话教育一直是大众媒体中备受争议和争论的政治问题。本研究考察了马来西亚报纸是如何在2018年大选前的3年(2015-2017年)期间对中国小学教育进行描述的。调查结果显示，大选临近导致有关中国小学教育的新闻报道激增。政治考虑仍然是主流报纸报道的核心，官方消息来源在塑造公众对这一问题的理解方面占主导地位。另类报纸通过读者积极参与公共辩论，成为反建制的平台。在这两种类型的报纸中，责任框架主导着中国小学教育的新闻报道。然而，另类报纸倾向于关注这个问题的冲突方面，突出了执政党和反对党政治家之间的不和以及国阵内部的争端。主流报纸通过人情味的框架，将事件情绪化，以引起读者的注意。本研究的结论是，马来西亚报纸采用的不同报道策略会影响读者对教育政策问题的评价。本文还讨论了研究结果的意义和研究的局限性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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Asia Pacific Media Educator COMMUNICATION-

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期刊介绍： Asia Pacific Media Educator is an international refereed journal published twice a year by SAGE Publications (New Delhi) in collaboration with the School of the Arts, English and Media, Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts, University of Wollongong in Australia. The journal follows international norms and procedures of blind peer reviewing by scholars representing a wide range of multi-disciplinary areas. APME focuses on generating discussions and dialogues among media educators, researchers and journalists. Content ranges from critical commentaries and essays to research reports and papers that contribute to journalism theory development and offer innovative ideas in improving the standard and currency of media reportage, teaching and training specific to the Asia Pacific region. Papers that integrate media theories with applications to professional practice, media training and journalism education are usually selected for peer review. APME also carries a Q&A section with book authors. APME takes conventional book reviews to a more creative level where reviewers directly engage with authors to understand the process that authors take in researching and writing the book, clarify their assumptions and pose critical questions.