A discourse coalition framework analysis of the construction, context, and empowerment of Ontario's international education narratives. It aims to answer three research questions: (a) How is. international education constructed as a policy discourse in the postsecondary sector in Ontario.
Introduction
- Internationalization as Policy in the PSE sector: What Do We Know?
- Internationalization as Policy: What do We Not Know?
- What Is Policy?
- Theoretical Framework: Discourse Coalition Framework
- Methodology
- Value of DCF
- Revised Research Questions
- Dissertation Organization
A discussion of the role of some agents of change in the framework of the IP debate in Ontario follows. I theorize about the strengths and limitations of the Discourse Coalition framework as identified in this study.
Literature Review
Internationalization
- Globalization and internationalization
- Internationalization and neoliberalism
- International education: Ideologies, approaches, and activities
One of the most widely used definitions for the process of internationalization of higher education is that offered by Jane Knight (Majoor & Niemantsverdriet, 2010; Suspitsyna, 2015). Instrumentalism sees the internationalization of higher education as a means of maintaining sustainable development and is therefore associated with.
International Education Governance and Policy
- Who Governs IE?
- Why engage with IE? Stakeholders’ perspectives
- IE activities: What has been examined?
Within the Canadian context, Tamtik (2017) observes that Canada is formulating an aggressive marketing approach to take advantage of the intensified global competition (p. 1). The role of the state in the governance of international education in Canada is further complicated by the unique constitutional. Other scholars argue that the role of the state is weakening due to the emergence of more dominant global and supranational actors and contexts.
PSE Policy-Making Literature in Canada
In another study, Rexe (2015) notes that student-organized advocacy groups and other policy advocates have occasionally been successful in their attempts to influence policymaking when aligned with a political party's policy preference, especially during elections, when political parties tend to influence policy making. being more attuned to student voices, “a critical component for successful change” (p. 41). Therefore, these studies suggest that if IP policy actors in Ontario want to influence policymaking and ensure their voices are heard, their success may depend on their access to and agreement with those few central government players.
Gaps and Contribution to Literature
Little work has been done to take into account the role of other actors, whether successful or not, in influencing policymaking. Given the role of the media in influencing public opinion (Saraisky, 2015; Stack, 2007) and the role that public opinion plays in influencing policy (Rexe, 2015), this study examines the construction of IP by the media and its influence on IP policymaking. .
Policy Context
- Federal Context
- Ontario Context
- International Education and Immigration Policies
- Federal level
- Provincial level
- Gaps
Much of the federal government's involvement with the IE is through its immigration policies. The first concerns the role of the two levels of government (federal and provincial) in the political landscape of IE.
Theoretical Framework
Discursive Approaches to Policy Studies
A discursive approach allows the researcher to account for what Gee (2015) refers to as "small 'd' discourse" (i.e. language in use among people) as well as the "big. This discursive framework and its analytical tool (argumentative discourse analysis, which will be discussed further in Chapter 5) helps to understand how the various and dispersed IE small 'd' discourses meet and contribute to the construction of the large 'D' international education discourses in Ontario. To examine these discourses and actors in a larger social context help to illuminate the construction of the great.
Roots of the Discourse Coalition Framework
To address the aforementioned weakness in Foucault's theory, Hajer turns to the field of social psychology, especially the work of Michael Billig and Rome Harré which Hajer refers to as a. While social interactionists share much theoretical underpinning with Foucault regarding the role of discourse in shaping realities, they highlight "the level of interpersonal interaction" (Hajer, 1995, p. 52). 24 This corresponds to the Aristotelian distinction between logos (how to argue a persuasive case), ethos (the reputation of the speaker) and pathos (rhetorical strategies aimed at playing on the emotions of listeners).
Discourse Coalition Framework Premise
Within this framework, policy making is defined as “a set of practices designed to process fragmented and contradictory explanations in order to create the kinds of problems that institutions can address and for which solutions can be found” (Hajer, 1995, p. 15). Within this perspective, policymaking creates a sense of community that encourages ordinary citizens to “think about what they really value” (Hajer, 2003b, p. 88). Once this trigger is activated through a policy that is very important to these citizens, they evolve from “political activists on standby” to a group that is “politically engaged” (Hajer, 2003b, p. 88).
Argumentative Approach
67 Hajer (1995) introduced "the concept of discourse coalition, which analyzes the formations that form around certain social constructs" (Hajer, 1995, p. 264) - how certain ones gain influence, but also who tries to control them and from which social positions. Hajer's argumentative approach conceives of politics as "a struggle for discursive hegemony in which actors try to secure support for their definition of reality" (1995, p. 59). Therefore, discourse analysis should illuminate the way in which cognitive and social commitments are routinely reproduced and the way in which discursive "interpellations" take place (Hajer, 1995, p. 60).
Key Concepts
- Discourse
- Storylines
- Discourse coalition members
- Hegemony and power dynamics
- Emblematic issues
- Institutional void
First of all, storylines have the functional role of facilitating the reduction of the discursive complexity of a problem and creating opportunities for problem closure. Hajer (2003a) argues that policy analysis must respond to the changing context of policy-making where the power of the nation-state is being weakened by "increasing civilian. With this weakening of the state, Hajer (2003a) claims that the state is no longer the only actor that intervenes in policy making.
Strengths and Limitations of Discourse Coalition Framework
When these statements become part of the discursive context, they can have unintended political effects in the argumentative struggle to impose a certain way of seeing and (re)defining the problem, attributing solutions and positioning one's own and other political coalitions (Fischer, 2003). , Hajer, 1995). In their review of forest policy discourses, Leipold and Winkel (2013)29 focused on the analysis of discursive agency as. In his examination of the relationship between policy and research, Burton30 (2006) criticizes DCF's belief that discourse is “everything” in which “words are not just actions, but are sufficient to change society” (p. 187).
Value of DCF to the Current Study
Examining old and new emerging histories and their discourse coalitions helps to understand the dynamic context of IE and the shifting power dynamics within it. It helps examine the various coalition members who mobilize and are mobilized by these stories and the argumentative process of reordering the definition and value of EI that ultimately. DCF helps examine the members of the discourse coalition that mobilize and are mobilized by these stories and the argumentative process of reordering the definition and value of EI that ultimately drives policy change.
Research Methodology
Case Study
Finally, a case study method in policy-oriented research can "directly influence policy, practice and future research" as it provides insight into other similar policies/cases, thus empowering actors with necessary information about policy-making (Merriam, 1988, p. 19). In educational research, the case study has two main limitations. 2000) report that case study data, because of their richness, are difficult to organize. What are the IE stories that influence Ontario's construction of international education as a policy problem and/or solution in the post-secondary education sector.
Argumentative Discourse Analysis (ADA)
Argumentative Discourse Analysis Steps
Get a basic idea of the process of happening and the sites of discursive production. Interpretation Prepare a description of discursive structures, interpretation practices and sites of production. Share the developed relational map and seek feedback on whether the map matches their vision of IE policy actors and the relationship between them.
Research Site
92, that the Rae Report, published in 2005, can be considered a milestone in the history of IE in Ontario since, as discussed earlier, it emphasized the importance of investing in IE and developing an IE strategy. Many of this study's interviewees agreed that the Rae Report was "sort of the driving force that got everything going" (Provincial Civil Servant, 5); "our guidebook" (Interview, Politiker, 6); and "actually started us on a better path" (Interview, National SIG, 10). In April 2018, Ontario's first International Postsecondary Education Strategy 2018: Educating Global Citizens was released, which indicated that a particular story has achieved hegemony (discourse structuring and institutionalization), which will be discussed in Chapter 7.
Data Sources and Analysis
- Media
- Policy documents
- Interviews
The purpose of the interviews was to supplement the collected information with regard to storylines, actors, argumentation and contexts involved in the IE policy development process. The number of participants was chosen on the basis of (a) the size of the study, (b) the fact that the interviews complemented documentary data (media and policy documents), (c) the representation of the various organizations, institutions and individuals involved in IE- the discourse as identified by the media and document analysis, (d) the representation of actors throughout the period involved and (e) the representation of different storylines and. Together, these three sources contributed to the identification of the storylines, coalition members and key events.
Data Saturation and Triangulation
Limitations
Finally, due to the busy schedules of the key policy actors, the researcher chose not to conduct a third set of interviews (step 10 of Hajer's steps for conducting discourse analysis). For example, although the private sector (career colleges, language schools and recruitment agencies) and immigration lawyers were identified as actors for interviews, the researcher was unable to interview representatives. 110 and immigration attorneys (as identified by the media and interviewees), but the researcher either received no responses or was unable to schedule an interview.
Researcher’s Positionality
Ideally, it should be compared with that of other Canadian provinces to examine the uniqueness of the Ontario IE policy-making process. This amalgamation helped provide a rich and nuanced understanding of the different storylines, the dynamics of the coalition members that sustained them, the emblematic issues and the discursive practices that influenced IE policy-making. This is considered necessary to understand the complexity of the IE policy landscape in Ontario and to examine how different histories impacted.
Storyline 1: Internationalize It Is Good for the Economy (Economy)
- Business and trade
- Innovation
- Financial rewards
- Labor and immigration
- Internationalize, it is good for the economy coalition members
The evolution of economics history in the media and its relation to global, national and provincial events. This discourse was present in the media about branch campuses (eg, York University's Schulich School of Business in India and the presence of Algonquin and Niagara Colleges in Saudi Arabia). This discourse is consistent with other global discourses, as examined in the literature review chapter.
Storyline 2: Internationalize, Yet Manage Its Risks (Risks)
- Protect international students
- Protect Canadians
- Quality of educational experiences/system
- Internationalize, yet manage its risks coalition members
At the federal level, CIC mobilized this discourse as well, yet in the context of weeding out fraudulent IS (i.e., the integrity of the immigration system). A participant noted that "international students now contribute a majority of the tuition revenue to many institutions. Provincially, the Risks storyline was already articulated in provincial government policy documents in 2005, which reinforced the discourse of the protection of IS and the quality of the PSE sector focus.
Storyline 3: Internationalize, It’s Canada’s Gateway to the World (Gateway)
- Education
- Global image
- Internationalize, it’s Canada’s gateway to the world coalition members
Evolution of the Gateway storyline in the media in relation to global, national and provincial events. It is to know and respect the many different ways of life in the world” (President of Centennial College as quoted in International Education Nurtures, 2013). This discourse has been frequently used in the media by political and foreign affairs reporters and columnists to support and oppose Canada's foreign policy.
Summary
Actors who mobilized the Gateway storyline to support the Economy storyline are only represented here in the Gateway storyline (and vice versa).
Emblematic Sites
- Emblematic Site 1: Private Education Sector
- Context
- Emergence of The private education sector can be risky storyline
- Discursive hegemony: The private education sector can be risky
- Emblematic Site 2: Ontario’s Trillium Scholarship
- Context
- A sudden earth-shattering announcement
- Emergence of two storylines
- Emblematic Site 3: Ontario’s International Postsecondary Education Strategy 2018
- History of Ontario’s attempts to institutionalize an IE strategy
- Emergence of two storylines
- A shifting terrain in IE discourses
- Ontario IE strategy: Which storyline has achieved hegemony?
- Summary
It is within this context that the private education sector's risky storyline has emerged. The private education sector can be a risky storyline has also attracted actors from outside the PSE sector. The private education sector can be a risky storyline since the institutionalization of the PCCA regularly mobilized.
Discursive Hegemony and Voices
Discursive Hegemony
- Internationalize, it’s good for the economy: The hegemonic storyline
- Internationalize, yet manage its risks storyline: Reframing the Economy storyline
- Internationalize, it’s Canada’s gateway to the world: A weak but supporting
Agents of Change
Summary
Discussion and Conclusion
The International Education Policy Landscape in Ontario
- How is IE understood as policy in Ontario?
- Fragmented landscape
- Hegemony of the Economy storyline
- Policy actors
- Multiplicity and diversity of policy actors
- Institutional void
- Influential actors versus less powerful ones
- Who is benefiting, after all?
Discourse Coalition Framework as a theoretical framework
- Strengths
- Limitations of DCF based on its application in this study
Research implications