Educated Guesses

Media coverage of university education in Canada

Melonie Fullick Faculty of Education, York University Twitter: @qui_oui June 1, 2012 Canadian Communication Association

Presentation Outline
Backgrounding and context Methodological approach & data Themes & examples Why does media coverage matter?

Framing & Context

Universities in Canada; trends & changes Massification-expansion Privatization (funding) Marketization-promotionalism

Methodology + materials
Content analysis vs. discourse analysis Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) News and opinion articles from Canadian sources: Globe & Mail, Macleans, National Post, Gazette

Critical Discourse Analysis

(e.g. Fairclough, 1989; 2003; Chouliaraki & Fairclough, 1999)

Closer reading of texts; Emphasis on relating text to (social, political, economic) context; Role of language in relations of power

Themes & examples

Intersecting, overlapping, interconnected themes/discourses Underlying assumptions Context of statements Example issue: tuition

Who should pay?

Debate about funding of postsecondary education and its VALUE:
Students should pay their fair share because they benefit as individuals (in form of lifetime earnings) Education should be publicly subsidised because it benefits society, & not all can afford the cost

Private good

Public good

Tuition & accessibility

Problems: funding, accessibility, quality Argument: tuition must be raised to maintain/increase university quality
Further funding cannot come from the government (privatization) Tuition doesnt affect access; enrolments dont drop when tuition rises.

Examples: tuition & access

No relationship exists between tuition and access. (Montreal Gazette, Opinion, April 11 2012, H. Munroe-Blum) context: author is Principal of McGill University
[] the high cost of financing a postsecondary education is scaring away students from underrepresented groups [] But costs are scaring away kids from middle-class homes as well (Globe & Mail, Opinion, July 7 2011, G. Mason) Would a Quebec tuition hike keep students out of university? (headline) (CBC News online, April 3 2012, S. Whyte)

Tuition & student debt

Anti-debt argument: debt is unfair and debilitating Disproportionately a problem for underprivileged students Metaphor used: carrying a load or burden that inhibits progress; accumulation (piling up)

Examples: student debt

Staggering debt: Lessons for young and old (headline) He carries an $18,000 debt load (Globe & Mail, Personal Finance, July 25 2011, T. Balujah) The crushing weight of student debt (headline) many are going on to graduate school and piling up more debt in the process (Globe & Mail, Opinion, July 7 2011, G. Mason) University students deserve our sympathy. Theyre paying more and more for less and less. And theyve got a pile of debt to show for it. (Globe & Mail, Commentary, Dec 6 2011, M. Wente)

Tuition & youth entitlement

Sets up generational warfare argument Assumption: funding is a zero-sum game Generalisations about youth:
Youth complaints are not legitimate Young people live in a world of their own (a bubble) Youth expectations are too high/unrealistic

Examples: student entitlement

Quebec students: Legitimate strikers or self-absorbed brats? (Globe & Mail, Debate, May 4 2012, G. Mason & P. Lagac)

The Quebec uprising is a farce [] They are nothing more than spoiled kids demanding to have their way. It is time they are ignored until they stop their whining and grow up. (G. Mason, ibid.)
The total [tuition] increase would amount to the cost of a daily grande cappuccino [] Now I get it: The kids are on another planet. (Globe & Mail, Opinion, M. Wente, May 1 2012)

Tuition & faculty salaries

Generational divide argument positions youth as victims Faculty privilege: high salaries & pensions, stable long-term employment Context: demise of the professions Questioning the value provided by faculty (e.g. global salary comparison)

Examples: salary & tuition

Pension ponzi is a raw deal for students (headline); students and taxpayers are on the hook for the generous pension promises made to faculty, staff and retirees. And they have pension deals the younger generation can only dream of (Globe & Mail, Commentary, Dec 6 2011, M. Wente)

Student protests, faculty pensions connect the dots (headline); ... if they stand unified, they will choke their institutions until they get a raise (Globe & Mail, March 30 2012, M. Broitman)
Want lower tuition? Ask your profs about $97,000 pensions (headline); The Occupy Movement should take note. If there was ever a symbol of the one per cent its professors (Macleans OnCampus, Feb 16 2012, J. Dehaas)

Why does this matter?

Universities are in the limelight more than ever (massification, privatization, marketization) Media coverage can frame public debates about education Effects of public opinion on policy/politics Shouldnt we be responding to the negative commentary?

Thank you for attending!

melonie.a.fullick@gmail.com Twitter: @qui_oui Blog: http://www.universityaffairs.ca/speculative-diction/