A Critical Discourse Analysis of Public Discourse on Graduate Employability Abstract
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UTHM Institutional Repository EMPOWERING THE POWERFUL: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC DISCOURSE ON GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS FACULTY OF HUMAN SCIENCES MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY THIS THESIS IS PRESENTED AS FULFILLMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY SITI NOOR FAZELAH MOHD NOOR EMPOWERING THE POWERFUL: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC DISCOURSE ON GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY ABSTRACT This study explores the issue of graduate employability in Malaysia as construed in public discourse in English, a language of power in Malaysia. The term employability itself has many definitions depending on the requirements of government and industry, and in the case of Malaysia, the English-language ability of graduates is inseparable from graduate employability. Data were collected from three socially significant English-language publications: a mainstream newspaper (the New Straits Times), an alternative newspaper (The Malaysian Insider), and a government document outlining the national approach to improving graduate employability in universities (the Graduate Employability Blueprint). The data were collected between 2012 and 2013, a significant two-year period of time due to the publication of the Graduate Employability Blueprint in 2012, and the five-yearly Malaysian General Election in 2013. Applying Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1995), the study employs Transitivity analysis (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004) and Appraisal analysis (Martin & White, 2005) from Systemic Functional Linguistics. The analysis looks at the grammatical roles and evaluation of important social actor groups in the graduate employability issue (e.g. government, government link companies, employers, graduates, parents and teachers). The findings show that government, the government programs and the employers are construed favourably, while the graduates are depicted unfavourably. Parents and teachers are largely excluded from the discourse. Significant government expenditure and national resources from public and private organizations are dedicated to improving the employability of graduates in Malaysia. However, ii the public discourse on graduate employability in the powerful English language appears unlikely to contribute to a social context where the aims of the groups with a key interest in graduate employability will be achieved. iii Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the following people. I would like to thank the late Assoc. Prof David Hall for giving me the opportunity to study under his guidance. It may have been too short but the experience will last forever. Though you were not here for the whole process, I know you are watching over me from up there. My deepest gratitude to my main supervisor Dr John Knox, who was there all the way until the finishing line. Your patience, guidance and perseverance in ensuring the completion of the thesis are the most invaluable experience I had during my journey. I started from zero knowledge in SFL but you pulled me through to complete the thesis. Thank you for the constructive comments. Those are the ones I remember most as a knowledge seeker. Dr Bradley Smith, you’re an inspiration! Thank you so much for proof-reading and editing the final draft of the thesis, and helping me with the technicality, typos and links. To my dearest other half, Hairuddin Harun, you are the best supporter a wife could ever have. To my beautiful children, Hanani, Hadijah, Harith and Hafith, thank you for putting up with me, the sacrifice and the support and love all the way. This is for you. To my mom and dad, thank you for keeping the faith in me. My family and friends, thank you for the prayers and support, emotionally and spiritually. They are the best gifts I can have. iv Contents Statement of candidate……………………………………………………i Abstract……………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………… iv Contents…………………………………………………………………….v List of Figures……………………………………………………………...xi List of Tables……………………………………………………………......xii Contents CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND…………………………………………………………….1 1.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................1 1.1 What is Employability? .....................................................................................................2 1.2 Graduate Employability Issue in Malaysia .......................................................................3 1.2.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................3 1.2.1 Soft Skills Introduction in the Syllabus .....................................................................5 1.2.2 Research on Employability in Education ...................................................................8 1.2.3 International Studies of Graduate Employability ....................................................10 1.3 Context ............................................................................................................................12 1.3.0 Introduction ..............................................................................................................12 1.3.1 Government Program ...............................................................................................13 1.3.2 Online Media in Malaysia: Representation of Social Actors in Online Newspapers15 1.4 Research Questions .........................................................................................................16 1.5 Overview .........................................................................................................................19 v 1.6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................19 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .....................................................................21 2.0 Introduction .....................................................................................................................21 2.1 English-language Ability and Graduate Employability in Malaysia ..............................21 2.1.0 Introduction ..............................................................................................................21 2.1.1 English Education Policy and Planning in Schools .................................................22 2.1.2 English at Higher Education Level ..........................................................................25 2.1.3 English for the Workplace .......................................................................................30 2.1.4 English, Employability and Social Power ...............................................................32 2.1.5 Conclusion to Section 2.1 ........................................................................................36 2.2 Media Discourse .............................................................................................................36 2.2.0 Introduction ..............................................................................................................36 2.2.1 What is News? .........................................................................................................37 2.3 Approaches to Media Discourse .....................................................................................42 2.4 What is CDA? .................................................................................................................42 2.4.1 Three- Dimensional Framework by Fairclough .......................................................45 2.4.2 Discourse Historical Approach by Wodak ..............................................................49 2.4.3 Socio- Cognitive Studies by van Dijk ......................................................................50 2.4.4 Sociological Framework in the Representation of Social Actors in Media Texts ...51 2.4.5 Conclusion to Section 2.4 ........................................................................................59 2.5 Conclusion to Chapter Two ............................................................................................59 CHAPTER THREE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................61 3.0 Introduction .....................................................................................................................61 3.1 Systemic Functional Linguistics in Critical Discourse Analysis ....................................61 3.2 Systems of Meaning: Metafunctions ..............................................................................63 3.3 Studies using Transitivity Analysis ................................................................................65 3.4 Transitivity: Clauses as Representation ..........................................................................68 3.4.1 Material Process .......................................................................................................70 3.4.2 Mental Process .........................................................................................................71 3.4.3 Verbal Process .........................................................................................................72 vi 3.4.4 Relational Process ....................................................................................................73 3.4.5 Behavioural Process .................................................................................................74