“This is a Dicey Topic”: Frames of Educational Inclusion of Migrant Children in Russian Print Media
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2025.3.2922Keywords:
migrant children, education, mass media, frame analysis, inclusionAbstract
The article discusses the methods of framing the issue of education of migrant children in the Russian media. Using frame analysis based on the adaptation of the approaches of R. Entman and W. Gamson on a continuous sample of articles in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Izvestia and Nezavisimaya Gazeta for the period 2005—2024, еhe authors identify four groups of arguments that represent contrasting methods of problematizing the educational inclusion of migrant children. They form frames that authors named “Threat”, “The least evil”, “The Victim”, and “The Rights”.
In the logic of the “Threat” frame, education is devalued due to the growth of alien elements that destroy it, increasing the burden and harming the society. Those who have not been socialized in the host country find it difficult to master the school curriculum, and they pose risks to others. In the discursive frame “The least evil”, education appears as a barrier to criminalization and a channel for replenishing the labor force. The benefits of “inevitable” inclusion are viewed in terms of productivism and safety for society. “The Victim” frame shows children as hostages of tradition, experiencing exploitation, isolation and violence, suffering from deficiencies in the education system. Articles in “The Rights” frame show migrant children as subjects with diverse characteristics and postulate the importance of flexible approaches to education. The cultural theme of the frame is built on the rejection of xenophobia, the importance of the rule of law and inclusive culture, tolerance, and humanism. At the end of the period under consideration, the lexemes of law and order are used in the context of delegitimization of existing legal norms. Here, the lacunae of the legal field are seen as the insufficient strength of filters, which harms all participants. Voices legitimizing the amendment of legislation in view of problems with the “linguistic suitability” of children of foreign citizens, who must be shielded from the education system for their own good and the protection of Russian students, are rapidly gaining strength.
The article contributes to the development of ideas about the politics of representation and a set of tools for identifying the challenges that key social institutions face within contemporary processes of transnational migration.
Acknowledgments. The article was prepared within the framework of the Basic Research Program at HSE University.
References
Андерсон Б. Воображаемые сообщества. Размышления об истоках и распространении национализма. М.: Кучково поле, 2016.
Anderson B. (2016) Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. (In Russ.)
Деминцева Е. От «заводской» до «мигрантской» школы: (пост)советская школьная сегрегация в городском пространстве // Laboratorium: журнал социальных исследований. 2020. Т. 12. № 1. C. 152—182. https://doi.org/10.25285/2078-1938-2020-12-1-152-182.
Demintseva E. (2020) From “Factory” to “Migrant” School: (Post)Soviet School Segregation in Urban Space. Laboratorium: Journal of Social Research. Vol. 12. No. 1. P. 152—182. https://doi.org/10.25285/2078-1938-2020-12-1-152-182. (In Russ.)
Киреева О. В. Метафорическое моделирование миграции в дискурсе российских и британских СМИ // Политическая лингвистика. 2019. № 4. С. 31—38. https://doi.org/10.26170/pl19-04-03.
Kireeva O. V. (2019) Metaphorical Modeling of Migration in the Discourse of Russian and British Media. Political Linguistics. No. 4. P. 31—38. https://doi.org/10.26170/pl19-04-03. (In Russ.)
Комарова Е. В. Образ мигранта в медиадискурсе: традиционные СМИ и новые медиа // Филология и культура. 2019. № 4. С. 41—49. https://doi.org/10.26907/2074-0239-2019-58-4-52-60.
Komarova Ye. V. (2019) The Image of a Migrant in Media Discourse: Traditional Media and New Media. Philology and Culture. No. 4. P. 41—49. https://doi.org/10.26907/2074-0239-2019-58-4-52-60. (In Russ.)
Леденева В. Ю., Безвербная Н. А. Формирование образа мигранта в СМИ и социальных сетях на фоне эпидемии COVID-19 (по результатам контент-анализа интернет-изданий) // Научное обозрение. Сер. 1: Экономика и право. 2020. № 3. С. 95—105. https://doi.org/10.26653/2076-4650-2020-3-08.
Ledeneva V. Yu., Bezverbnaya N. A. (2020) Forming the Image of a Migrant in the Media and Social Networks against the Backdrop of the COVID-19 Epidemic (Based on the Results of Content Analysis of Online Publications). Scientific Review. Series 1: Economics and Law. No. 3. P. 95—105. https://doi.org/10.26653/2076-4650-2020-3-08. (In Russ.)
Мавлетова А. М., Лебедев Д. В. Исследования медиа-фреймов: обзор основных методологических подходов// Коммуникации. Медиа. Дизайн. 2017. Т. 2. № 3. С. 79-102.
Mavletova A. M., Lebedev D. V. (2017) Research of Media Frames: Review of the Main Methodological Approaches. Communications. Media. Design. Vol. 2. No. 3. P. 79-102. (In Russ.)
Маркина В. М. Стратегии репрезентации Других в СМИ: теория и методология контент-анализа // Вестник Томского государственного университета. Философия. Социология. Политология. 2015. № 1. С. 82—90.
Markina V. M. (2015) Strategies of Representation of Others in the Media: Theory and Methodology of Content Analysis. Bulletin of Tomsk State University. Philosophy. Sociology. Political Science. No. 1. P. 82—90. (In Russ.)
Павленко Р. И. Литературные материалы «Независимой газеты» и общественная жизнь середины 90-х годов XX века // Известия Саратовского университета. Нов. сер. Сер. Филология. Журналистика. 2013. Т. 13. № 3. С. 107-111.
Pavlenko R. I. (2013) Literary Materials of the “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” and Public Life in the Mid-90s of the 20th Century. Bulletin of Saratov University. New series. Series: Philology. Journalism. Vol. 13. No. 3. P. 107-111. (In Russ.)
Сосновская А. M. Современные источники националистического самосознания в молодежной среде: анализ имплицитных установок опроса «Гармонизация межнациональных отношений и профилактика экстремистских проявлений в образовательной сфере и молодежной среде» // Управленческое консультирование. 2020. № 2. С. 109—120. https://doi.org/10.22394/1726-1139-2020-2-109-120.
Sosnovskaya A. M. (2020) Modern Sources of Nationalistic Self-Awareness among Young People: Analysis of Implicit Guidelines of the Survey “Harmonization of Inter-Ethnic Relations and Prevention of Extremist Manifestations in the Educational Sphere and among Young People”. Management Consulting. No. 2. P. 109—120. https://doi.org/10.22394/1726-1139-2020-2-109-120. (in Russ).
Фэй Л. Медиаобраз Китая в российской прессе (на примере материалов «Российской газеты») // Меди@льманах. 2023. № 6. С. 60—69.
Fei L. (2023) Media Image of China in the Russian Press (Based on Materials from the Rossiyskaya Gazeta Newspaper). Medi@lmanakh. No. 6. P. 60--69. (In Russ.)
Buzan B., Waever O. (1998) Security: A New Framework for Analysis. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Cap P. (2019) Aspects of Threat Construction in the Polish Anti-Immigration Discourse. In: Viola L., Musolff A. (eds.) Migration and Media. Discourses about Identities in Crisis. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. P. 115-136.
Catalano Th. (2017) When Children Are Water: Representation of Central American Migrant Children in Public Discourse and Implications for Educators. Journal of Latinos and Education. Vol. 16 No. 2. P. 124—142. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2016.1205988.
Elitaş S.K. (ed.) (2024) Media Representation of Migrants and Refugees. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Entman R. M. (1993) Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. Journal of Communication. Vol. 43. No. 4. P. 51—58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x.
Fuller J. M. (2019) Discourses of Immigration and Integration in German Newspaper Comments. In: Viola L., Musolff A. (eds.) Migration and Media. Discourses about Identities in Crisis. P. 317–338. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Gamson W. A., Modigliani A. (1989) Media Discourse and Public Opinion on Nuclear Power: A Constructionist Approach. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 95. No.1. P.1—37.
Gamson W. A., Croteau D., Hoynes W., Sasson T. (1992) Media Images and the Social Construction of Reality. Annual Review of Sociology. Vol. 18. P. 373—393.
Goethals T., Mortelmans D., van den Bulck H., van den Heurck W., Hove G.V. (2020) I Am not Your Metaphor: Frames and Counter-Frames in the Representation of Disability. Disability & Society. Vol. 37. No. 5. P. 746—764. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2020.1836478.
Gómez-Quintero J.-D., Aguerri J.-C., Gimeno-Monterde C. (2021) Media Representation of Minors Who Migrate on their Own: The ’MENA’ in the Spanish Press. Comunicar. Vol. 29. No. 67. P. 95—105.
Hall S. (1980) Encoding/Decoding. In: Hall S., Hobson D., Lowe A., Wills P. (eds.) Culture, Media, Language. London: Hutchinson. P. 128—138.
Koca-Helvacı Z. C. (2019) A Humanitarian Disaster or Invasion of Europe? 2015 Migrant Crisis in the British Press. In: Viola L., Musolff A. (eds.) Migration and Media. Discourses about Identities in Crisis. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. P. 93-114.
Rosen R., Crafter S. (2018) Media Representations of Separated Child Migrants. Migration and Society. Vol. 1. No. 1. P. 66-81. https://doi.org/10.3167/arms.2018.010107.
Van Gorp B. (2010) Strategies to Take Subjectivity out of Framing Analysis. In: D’Angelo P., Kuypers J. (eds.) Doing News Framing Analysis: Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives. New York, NY: Routledge. P. 84—109.
Van Gorp B. (2007) The Constructionist Approach to Framing: Bringing Culture Back. Journal of Communication. Vol. 57. No. 1. P. 60—78. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9916.2007.00329.x.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
