Frames in educational practices

Abstract

The article presents results of the study of students’ educational practices based on frame analysis. The authors note that frame analysis is characterized by a variety of ways of its empirical verification, and suggest their own version of how educational practices can be framed. We suggest that ideas about individuals’ life strategies can be used as the basis for choosing frames, since the attitude towards educational practices is largely determined by the expectations and ideas about the future. This is related to the ‘intermediate’ status of students, who are in the initial stage of their professional self-identification at the university. Such ideas may not exist as clearly formulated attitudes, but act as a hidden mechanism of motivation and social activity of a person (which is especially important for frame analysis). A system of indicators for framing educational practices has been developed, including relationships with classmates, communication with supervisors, the image of the university and the image of a future career. The research has been carried out using the semi-structured interview method. Interviews have been conducted with undergraduate students at the Faculty of Sociology at St. Petersburg State University. As a result, four main frames has been identified, which can be considered as a latent expression of a certain type of life strategy: ‘careerist-workaholic’ — the strategy for successful employment and career growth; ‘researcher’ — the strategy for further intellectual/ academic activity; ‘curious erudite’ — the strategy for communication, gaining a wide range of knowledge; ‘transit’ — the strategy for avoiding choosing a life strategy in the near future. The most frequently occurring frames are the ‘researcher’ and the ‘careerist-workaholic’, which can be explained by the specifics of the level of education of the respondents.