A favor or a right? How Vietnamese media frame inclusive education for students with autism

Exclusion of students with autism remains pervasive in Vietnam’s education system, despite national laws and international commitments to inclusive education. Drawing on critical realism and framing theory, the research employed integrated qualitative framing analysis of news articles collected through Google news search with the keywords “tự kỷ” [autistic/autism] and “hòa nhập” [integration/inclusion]. Findings revealed that news media often framed inclusive education for students with autism primarily as a personal struggle rather than a systemic social policy issue, reinforcing the perception that inclusion is a favor, not a right. Moreover, exclusionary practices were normalized and rarely challenged as violations of legal rights, reflecting deeper ableist attitudes and the limited watchdog role of the Vietnamese media. The study contributes theoretically by operationalizing an integrated framing analysis model with Entman’s framing functions, Iyengar’s responsibility attribution, Kahneman and Tversky’s gain and loss framing effects, in sync with the models of exclusion/segregation/integration/inclusion (ESII).