Centre for Urban Research on Austerity (CURA) Interdisciplinary Research Partnerships Fund

Abstract

The pilot project aims to address tensions identified with the ‘migrant children schooling crisis’ as it is portrayed in the media and the challenges this brings to local authorities and schools who have to place and educate ‘migrant children’. This is an intersectional study between the media framing of neoliberalism, framing of tensions within the education sector and the reality of how local authorities and schools deal with those tensions. The project investigates this by undertaking a frame analysis of newspapers (2015-2018) , interviewing local authority advisors, Executive Head of MATS, Chair of Governors, school Teachers and Head Teachers and is based in Leicestershire. The project aligns with CURA’s strategic focus on developing interdisciplinary, cross-faculty research partnerships involving education, media and politics. The project has the potential to expand the reach by engaging with psychology looking at building resilience within schools, depending on the findings from this pilot study. The study is aimed at reducing inequalities in society (UNSDG 10) by devising strategies and tools to survive in the age of austerity. The project further benefits from the interdisciplinary collaboration with health and mental health research here at DMU