Comparative Analysis of Educational News Content

June 20, 2023

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An Analytical study of “Dawn” and” The Jang”

Abstract

The purpose of this research article is to investigate whether media as being a third pillar of nation playing its role in promoting education in Pakistan or not? Education plays the role of leadership in the society. The objective of this research to find out the role of mass media in improving the quality of education and how far it can be improved. As we all know that media has various functions but the prime one is to educate its people. Media has the power to influence and to shape its audience. According to the cited UNESCO number Pakistan is at number 10 in the world in terms of the highest circulation of newspaper with 7,817,958 audiences.

The objective of this research to find out the role of mass media in improving the quality of education and how far it can be improved. As we all know that media has various functions but the prime one is to educate its people. Media has the power to influence its audience if media gives more coverage and influence its people to engage in education certainly some progress will be seen The finding shows that news paper hardly cover the education news it hardly cover some issues that are facing by the students but still there is no implementations or solutions by the state for the problems.

Background

Education plays a vital role in human capital formation. It raises the productivity and efficiency of individuals and thus produces skilled manpower that is capable of leading the economy towards the path of sustainable economic development. Like many other developing countries, the situation of the education sector in Pakistan is not very encouraging. The low enrolment rates at the primary level, wide disparities between regions and gender, lack of trained teachers, deficiency of proper teaching materials and poor physical infrastructure of schools indicate the poor performance of this sector.

The extremely low level of public investment is the major cause of the poor performance of Pakistan’s education sector. Public expenditure on education remained less than 2 percent of GNP before 1984-85. In recent years it has increased to 2.2 percent. In addition, the allocation of government funds is skewed towards higher education so that the benefits of public subsidy on education are largely reaped by the upper income class. Many of the highly educated go abroad either for higher education or in search of better job opportunities. Most of them do not return and cause a large public loss. In Pakistan, the quality of primary and secondary education has a declining trend. It is realized that science education in particular is reaching lowest ebb and needs to be improved urgently. At the time of independence and thereafter there remained acute shortage of teachers, laboratories were poor and ill equipped and curriculum had little relevance to present day needs (Behrman, 1976). The results suggest that certain minimum levels of enrolment at primary and secondary level represent a necessary condition for the development of functioning higher education. For relevant participation rates at university level, a net primary enrolment rate of 80 percent seems to be the minimum required. Similarly, about 80 percent of secondary net enrolment typically seems to be the minimum to develop higher education institutions with the potential to be listed in international university rankings, to employ the considerable number of researchers and to develop significant new ideas. Another relevant result of analysis is that the strong differences between educational institutions at secondary level may be detrimental for tertiary education quality (Katharina, 2006). The Education Sector in Pakistan suffers from insufficient financial input, low levels of efficiency for implementation of programs, and poor quality of management, monitoring, supervision and teaching. As a result, Pakistan has one of the lowest rates of literacy in the world, and the lowest among countries of comparative resources and social/economic situations. With a per capita income of over $450 Pakistan has an adult literacy rate of 49%, while both Vietnam and India with less per capita income have literacy rates of 94% and 52%, respectively (Human Development Centre, 1998). Literacy is higher in urban areas and in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab, among the higher income group, and in males.

Research Questions

Does media gives importance to academic education sector in Pakistan?

Does media promotes the literacy rate in Pakistan?

Because the people in developing countries are more likely to be interested in national problems about the education than international ones.

Literature Review

Media play an undeniable role in fixing expressions .It is asserted that the mass media play a significant part in the education policy process (Wallace, M., 1993), yet this contribution has received little attention in empirical and theoretical analyses. Convergence between theoretical work on education policy and media studies in linking social institutions with the economy in the perpetuation of social inequalities, while accepting their relative autonomy, provides a starting point for incorporation of the media role in conceptualization of the education policy process. Concepts which may assist the exploration of the media role within education policy are denned, including the anthropological notion of myths. These concepts are employed in analysing a policy issue wherein the British government and the mass media framed the relevant debate as a polarization between progressive and traditional education. The analysis draws on the experience of a primary school which was portrayed in a current affairs television programme as exemplifying progressive educational practices.

It is part of a larger study that takes the position that the media play a central role in educational policy‐making and that educators need to understand the power that journalists working within corporate structures have to shape educational policy(Stack, M., 2007)

Ideally, a media system suitable for a democracy ought to provide its readers with some coherent sense of the broader social forces that affect the conditions of their everyday lives(Gamson, W.A., Croteau, D., Hoynes, W. and Sasson, T., 1992) It is difficult to find anyone who would claim that media discourse even remotely approaches this ideal. The overwhelming conclusion is that the media generally operate in ways that promote apathy, cynicism, and quiescence, rather than active citizenship and participation. Furthermore, all the trends seem to be in the wrong direction—toward more and more messages, from fewer and bigger producers, saying less and less. That’s the bad news.The good news is that the messages provide a many-voiced, open text that can and often is read appositionally, at least in part. Television imagery is a site of struggle where the powers that be are often forced to compete and defend what they would prefer to have taken for granted. The underdetermined nature of media discourse allows plenty of room for challengers such as social movements to offer competing constructions of reality and to find support for them from readers whose daily lives may lead them to construct meaning in ways that go beyond media .

Methodology

The paper is prepared using quantitative research method. This research mainly intends to go for Content analysis methods, as comparative analysis of both Newspapers The Daily DAWN & The Daily Jang can only be possible with qualitative research approaches. Numeric figures &; other statistical data are obtained here to evaluate the actual figure of news glory and preferences of education news in Pakistan”.

Unit of Analysis

Units of analysis generally used in the analysis of media’s contents are: words, themes, characters, items and space (Berelson, 1952). The analysis involved the educational stories appearing in. Daily Jang and Daily Dawn newspaper from 1st March to 31st March, 2017 is the unit of analysis.

Limitations

Limitations and constraints for the methodology. The research was limited was limited to print media alone and thus not include the other major ones example cable, satellite TV, internet, telecommunication, the news coverage was assessed visually. The measurement was based on visual calculations. Supplements or weekend editions having pages have been excluded from survey.

Data Findings

Finding of education news in Dawn

Date	Covered News %	Other News in %	Total daily news
1^ST MARCH	0	100	100
2^ND MARCH	0	100	100
3^RD MARCH	2	98	100
4^TH MARCH	0	100	100
5^TH MARCH	0	100	100
6^TH MARCH	3	97	100
7^TH MARCH	1	100	100
8^TH MARCH	0	100	100
9^TH MARCH	0	100	100
10^TH MARCH	1	99	100
11^TH MARCH	3	97	100
12^TH MARCH	2	98	100
13^TH MARCH	2	98	100
14^TH MARCH	0	100	100
15^TH MARCH	0	100	100
16^TH MARCH	1	99	100
17^TH MARCH	0	100	100
18^TH MARCH	1	99	100
19^TH MARCH	0	100	100
20^TH MARCH	1	99	100
21^ST MARCH	1	99	100
22^ND MARCH	1	99	100
23^RD MARCH	0	100	100
24^TH MARCH	0	100	100
25^TH MARCH	0	100	100
26^TH MARCH	1	99	100
27^TH MARCH	3	97	100
28^TH MARCH	4	96	100
29^TH MARCH	7	93	100
30^TH MARCH	1	99	100
31^ST MARCH	1	99	100
Total	36	3065	3100
Total %	1.13%	98.87%	100%

Finding of education news in Jang

Date	Covered News %	Other News in %	Total daily news
1^ST MARCH	8	92	100
2^ND MARCH	4	100	100
3^RD MARCH	14	86	100
4^TH MARCH	8	92	100
5^TH MARCH	7	93	100
6^TH MARCH	7	93	100
7^TH MARCH	6	94	100
8^TH MARCH	4	96	100
9^TH MARCH	5	95	100
10^TH MARCH	5	95	100
11^TH MARCH	6	94	100
12^TH MARCH	4	96	100
13^TH MARCH	5	95	100
14^TH MARCH	8	92	100
15^TH MARCH	4	96	100
16^TH MARCH	6	94	100
17^TH MARCH	2	98	100
18^TH MARCH	2	98	100
19^TH MARCH	3	97	100
20^TH MARCH	3	99	100
21^ST MARCH	10	90	100
22^ND MARCH	5	95	100
23^RD MARCH	6	100	100
24^TH MARCH	2	98	100
25^TH MARCH	2	92	100
26^TH MARCH	2	98	100
27^TH MARCH	2	98	100
28^TH MARCH	4	96	100
29^TH MARCH	7	93	100
30^TH MARCH	11	89	100
31^ST MARCH	5	100	100
Total	167	2944	3100
Total %	5.67%	94.91%s	100%

Results

The study attempted to find out the difference between Daily Jang and Daily Dawn educational news from 1st March to 31st March, 2017. A one month period, was selected to accomplish this purpose. Every academic educational issue/news of both newspapers from the first issue of March 1st March to 31st March, 2017 was examined. The total number of news about the education found in the newspaper studied was 3065/35 in DAWN, and 167/2944 In Jang newspaper

Being a part of media, newspaper are the key elements to play a vital role in bringing about a change in society by giving maximum coverage towards education news our society can lead towards the educational awareness and Pakistan may increase it’s literacy rate through this initiative As results shown that educational news get very minimum coverage some issues published frequently but there is no progress or implementations shows towards these problems

As figure 1 shows Data of Dawn only 35 no of education news gets its coverage in an entire month that takes 1.13% of an average ratio.

Same as figure 2. Data of Jang shows that 167 education news get its coverage in a month that takes 5.67% average in an entire month

Although these two newspaper are renowned and having fast circulations around the country. According to finding education news required more attention towards media.

Data analyses and interpretations:

Date	jang	dawn
	x	x²	x	x²
1^ST MARCH	8	64	0	0
2^ND MARCH	4	16	0	0
3^RD MARCH	14	196	2	4
4^TH MARCH	8	64	0	0
5^TH MARCH	7	49	0	0
6^TH MARCH	7	49	3	9
7^TH MARCH	6	36	1	1
8^TH MARCH	4	16	0	0
9^TH MARCH	5	25	0	0
10^TH MARCH	5	25	1	1
11^TH MARCH	6	36	3	9
12^TH MARCH	4	16	2	4
13^TH MARCH	5	25	2	4
14^TH MARCH	8	64	0	0
15^TH MARCH	4	16	0	0
16^TH MARCH	6	36	1	1
17^TH MARCH	2	4	0	0
18^TH MARCH	2	4	1	1
19^TH MARCH	3	9	0	0
20^TH MARCH	3	9	1	1
21^ST MARCH	10	100	1	1
22^ND MARCH	5	25	1	1
23^RD MARCH	6	36	0	0
24^TH MARCH	2	4	0	0
25^TH MARCH	2	4	0	0
26^TH MARCH	2	4	1	1
27^TH MARCH	2	4	3	9
28^TH MARCH	4	16	4	16
29^TH MARCH	7	49	7	49
30^TH MARCH	11	121	1	1
31^ST MARCH	5	25	1	1
Total	167	3754	36	114

Data collected for accumulation of diversification and variance,March’17

The table shows frequencies and covered news in each newspaper of Dawn and Jang. This table was formed to measure mean, variance, standard deviation and finally for C.V

Measurement of Mean,Variance and standard Deviation:

Mean here represented by symbol µ, variance sigma2, standard deviation σ,

For ascertaining scattering, dispersion, and variance of numeric data these statistical tools are in great use. According to Walpole (1990), mean is the central value of data which brings the entire data values to single numeric value. For measuring dispersion and scattering, variance numerical valueused to indicate how widely individuals in a group vary (Berman, 2016)

Mean For Dawn Mean For jang

∑x=36 x=167

N=31 =31

µ=∑x/n µ=∑x/n

µ=35/31 µ=150/31

µ=1.161 µ=5.387

Variance for Dawn variance for Jang

σ²=∑x²/n-( µ) ² σ²=∑x²/n-( µ) ²

σ²=114/31-(1.161) ² σ²=3754/31-(5.387)²

σ²=3.67-1.34792 σ²=121.09-29.019

σ²=2.32208 σ²=92.071

standard deviation for Dawn standard deviation for Jang

σ= √σ²=∑x²/n-( µ) ² σ= √σ²=∑x²/n-( µ) ²

σ=1.523 σ=9.59

COEFFICIENT OF VARIANCE (Dawn) coefficient of variance (Jang)

C.V= σ/ µ*100 C.V= σ/ µ*100

C.V=131.034 C.V=178.252

Conclusion

The research described in this paper was conducted to answer two Questions proposed at the beginning of this study:

Does media gives importance to education sector in Pakistan?
1. Does media promotes the literacy in Pakistan?

These questions should be researched, because a gap has been observed between comparative testing data shows that only 1.13%of education news covered by Dawn However 5.67% of educational news covered by Jang. It is important to understand how media frame the education system since the public gains knowledge about academic education through news coverage and the media has the ability to promote certain realities through the frames they use.

Until now, only a limited amount of research has been conducted in this area. Most of the studies are qualitative discourse analyses of education news coverage, but very little quantitative research exists on news framing of academic education, specifically . This research was needed, to highlight the problem that is the major cause of many problem. This study adds additional quantitative information to the body of research. The results of a content analysis of newspaper coverage since No, education is framed more episodically than thematically. A failing academic education theme was identified in a majority of the news coverage to provide additional support for these findings, because at this point quantitative research on this topic has been limited. While these results are promising, more research is needed to solidify their ability to be generalized to the broader population of news. In summary, the findings of this study do provide evidence that

Additional research may be needed to determine more specifically whether the state of academic education is being described by the news media as a crisis, but evidence certainly exists that the language used to discuss academic education focuses on the need for an overhaul of the system, which implies there is something broken that must be fixed.

References

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This research article is published by Ifrah Sami. She is MPhil qualified from University of Karachi and pursuing her career in research and development.

Alison Lurie

Alison Lurie is a farmer of words in the field of creativity. She is an experienced independent content writer with a demonstrated history of working in the writing and editing industry. She is a multi-niche content chef who loves cooking new things.