Education and city in the English-language small-format texts: axiological approach

Abstract

The present research deals with the study of the linguoaxiological plan of small-format texts in the English-language educational discourse. The empirical basis for the analysis included one hundred presentation texts posted on the websites of British urban schools. The study hypothesis is that small-format presentation texts fully reflect the value paradigm formed by contemporary British society concerning secondary education in urban infrastructure. At that, values are interpreted as axiological dominants, verbalized through a system of linguistic markers. The novelty of the approach to the analysis of the linguocultural plan of small-format texts is due to its integrated nature, involving a progressive shift from the level of evaluative linguistic resources to the identification of evaluative micro- and macroconcepts, followed by the subsequent systematization of the obtained data at the level of the relevant axiological dominants associated in the minds of society with the education sector in the context of the urban environment. According to the analysis, the absolute axiological dominant of contemporary education is the student’s “Success” interpreted in a broad sense as academic performance, as well as the ability to apply in later life the skills formed in the course of study. The results obtained can be used for further development of linguoaxiological problematics in other discursive areas.