The State of Research Education in the Public Relations Curriculum

Abstract

Answering the why question may be the hallmark of the next century's public relations practice. Research, a vital part of the public relations practice to which much lip service has been paid, appears to be an essential element in earning public relations a place on the team as well as advancing as a profession. Increasingly, tomorrow's practitioners are preparing themselves for careers by studying public relations theory and skills in school today. This study's mission was to find out how institutions and those teaching public relations are preparing those practitioners for their projected responsibilities. Literature review In 1951 Stephen Fitzgerald, president of a New York public relations firm, predicted that five or 10 years would pass before public relations practitioners would recognize the importance of public relations and use (Fitzgerald, 1957, p. 145). Consistent with Fitzgerald's comments, the public relations literature contains many references to and its use in professional practice. Nearly 15 years ago, communication researcher James Grunig concluded that research (should advance) the practice and profession (Grunig, 1983, p. 28) and later recommended that undergraduate public relations programs should introduce students to communication theory and (Grunig, 1989, p. 23). Communication theorist John Pavlik identified applied as relevant to practitioners situations and problem-solving (Pavlik, 1987, p. n 30). A number of formal studies document that has gained practitioners' and educators' attention. David Dozier's 1981, 1985 and 1990 practitioner role studies all concluded that use differentiated managers from technicians. Peter Finn's 1982 study of public relations directors at Fortune 1000 companies found more than 80 percent believed would help practice (Finn, 1982, p. 14). Michael Ryan and David Martinson's late 1980s study of practitioners found that two-way communication practice used more than one-way practice (Martinson and Ryan, 1990, p. 383; Martinson and Ryan, 1992, p. 43). Walter Lindenmann's extensive 1988 study of senior practitioners found that 75 percent of practitioners in Fortune 500 companies consider a necessary component of practice (Lindenmann, 1990, p. 7). Hernando Gonzalez and William Adams' 1995 study of senior practitioners concluded that a majority of senior practitioners do use in their work, and Judy VanSlyke Turk and Maria Russell's 1990 study of public relations managers found 62 percent of them said entry-level practitioners should have skills. Educators have joined Grunig in recommending the incorporation of into public relations programs. Gay Wakefield and Laura Perkins Cottone's 1984 study recommended that public relations curricula include courses (Wakefield and Cottone, 1986, p. 2). Three major journalism/mass communication documents have outlined model public relations curriculum: the 1975 Commission on Public Relations Education, the 1981 Commission on Public Relations Education Report, and the 1987 Commission on Undergraduate Public Relations Education. The 1975 report did not specifically include a separate public relations course but did call for some type of introductory survey course. The 1981 report expanded the 1975 report's definition by stating that statistical concepts would be more beneficial if taught in a broader framework of general methodology. The 1987 report was even more concrete in its recommendations about for public relations because it is which provides the raw materials to be evaluated in the planning and policy-formulating stages of public relations management (The Design for Undergraduate Public Relations Education, 1987, p. 15). The recommendation was that public relations be taught as a separate course and include a mixture of theory and application necessary for public relations practice. …