Empowering the powerful: a critical discourse analysis of public discourse on graduate employability
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 Englis...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2015
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/1750/1/24p%20SITI%20NOOR%20FAZELAH%20MOHD%20NOOR.pdf |
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| Summary: | 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,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. |
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