Recommendations for Improving Public Relations Curricula and Professional Practice: A Research Brief

A current problem facing the PR industry concerns how educators and professionals can best evaluate students’ skillsets and overall preparedness, especially when transitioning from academia to professional work. The purpose of this brief is to illuminate for PR educators and professionals, and not solely show, that this is a country-specific evolution of how a curriculum is aiding or not aiding students, by examining global differences. Ultimately, stakeholders can get “a better understanding of how education contributes to the profession, but also to identify where education can be improved to help prepare better PR professionals” (Chung & Choi, 2012).

It has been difficult to connect PR education to professional practice, despite much research over the years. Cross-cultural comparisons such as these are important to examine the effectiveness and focus of curricula from several countries across three continents (Chung & Choi, 2012).

According to a content analysis of the PR curriculum of college-level schools in America, the UK and South Korea, the most frequent course in the U.S. it was PR Principles (95%), in the U.K. it was PR Management (85.7%) and South Korea was foreign language courses, mainly English Writing and Presentation (<100%) (Chung & Choi, 2012). A purposive sample of professors and practitioners that examined the perceptions of education in international public relations, was found that when asked what additional courses PR students should take before entering the workforce, “the most common responses, in order, were a writing class, a research methods class, and a religion class” (Hatzios & Lariscy, 2008).

Literature Review

The research summarized in this Literature Review examines whether Public Relations (PR) training curricula across the globe are (1) organized or specialized within an autonomous discipline, (2) how basic competencies, such as writing, are prioritized but possibly lacking and (3) how training succeeds or fails to cover basic, professional competencies and business orientation.

How Public Relations Training Is Not Organized Or Specialized Into a Discipline

This section reviews research on the extent of distinguished, specialized or qualified attention to PR, as its own concentration, in order to separate from broader studies.

Gonçalves (2009) conducted a qualitative exploratory study through a self-administered questionnaire, and found that PR studies were mostly grouped within the broader communication sciences in Portugal. These findings were the result of obtaining answers from 4 groups with 120 total individuals making up the sample. The 4 groups were distinguished by profession and included educators, company practitioners, public administration and communication consultancies. All questions dealt with how PR education can exist under recent European reforms, such as the Bologna Treaty.

Respondents also deemed certain classes as more important than others. More than 50% replied that 4 areas, including issues management, crisis communication media relations and strategic communication planning, held a greater importance over other disciplines. Through the attribution of disciplines it was found that the integration of PR within communication sciences had limited the number of specific PR disciplines, leading to less prominence of PR as a distinct, autonomous field (Gonçalves, 2009).

Ruler et al. (2004) attempted to conduct an in-depth study of typical aspects of PR in Europe, with three criteria to become part of the sample: respondents should be representative of a variety of European countries, should have one academic and one practitioner from each country and should be knowledgeable of PR practice in their respective countries. They found after grouping responses into themes, that many managers misunderstood PR. The responses also reflected that one of the essential pieces of knowledge for success in the field was how, as a process, communication works. Findings instead reflected the Portuguese model that view PR as a subset of communications, not its own discipline. From this study, the researchers also considered standards to be developed, naming PR undergraduate education as a commonly accepted practice. Their analysis, however, suggested that a lack of acceptance and availability of a PR program at the graduate or doctoral levels could be one reason for misunderstanding the practice.

In a similar qualitative study about not housing PR as its own discipline, Zhang et al. (2012) interviewed 49 participants, which included Chinese educators, students and practitioners. The 12 educators who were interviewed reported the absence of a local talent pool of Chinese PR scholars, mainly due to a lack of specialized doctoral training. As professors were not adequately prepared, continuing to house public relations as a concentration under another program could eventually lower the discipline’s status, because they deprived the students of enough specialized training.

These studies all focus on the inadequacies of European and Chinese PR programs at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels of study, including lack of standards. Less specialization has led to criticism of the lack of focus on a PR-specific education, as well as the need for qualified teachers and professionals to instruct young PR students and practitioners in countries like Portugal and China.

How basic competencies, such as writing, are prioritized but possibly lacking

This section reviews research on the basic PR competency of writing, if it is properly prioritized in curricula and how practitioners rate their employees’ proficiencies.

In an attempt to fill the research gaps left by a previous study from 2009, Gonçalves et al. (2013) conducted a qualitative content analysis to find that B.A. programs applied a low European Credits Transfer System (ECTS) score to be admitted in PR Writing and Production. The findings revealed that there was less emphasis on specified PR education in Portugal, by contrast with much more researched and developed European programs, such as those in the UK.

Todd (2014) conducted a mainly quantitative study with two qualitative questions using an online survey that was administered to 109 entry-level PR employees and 56 supervisors in an attempt to better understand entry-level practitioners’ job skills, according to self-evaluation and supervisor evaluation. This study found that supervisors rated “millennials’ writing skills as below average, 38% of the supervisors suggested that educators [should] require students to gain more writing practice” (Todd, 2014). The t-test revealed this discrepancy in writing skills depending on the respondent group. Supervisors rated employees writing skills at a 2.75 whereas employees rated their skills as a 4.05, ultimately revealing a t-score of 10.31.

Comparative to the more recent study above, Cameron et al. (1996) surveyed a large population of PR practitioners across the US and found that those in their twenties and sixties or older differed significantly, both giving high ratings, from those in their thirties when it came to the educational preparation dimension of professionalism (Cameron et al., 1996).

These studies all focus on the emphasis of writing at the collegiate level, while also examining the evaluation standards for professionals. The subjective nature of writing has led to discrepancies in evaluative tools and practice for standardization, not only in different countries, but from university to university.

How training succeeds or fails to cover basic, professional competencies and business orientation

This section reviews research on the relation of business practice and competency throughout PR education.

In better assessing senior communication executives’ understanding of business, an online study with a self-administered questionnaire was directed to the email addresses of Arthur R. Page Society members (n=428); the total number of possible responses resulted in 410, with 116 responses received in the end. Out of the 5 research questions asked, the third research question, on whether PR programs at colleges and universities were providing sufficient business training, yielded strong results. After being surveyed, 8 out of 10 (82%, n=95) did not believe that colleges and universities were doing enough to provide PR students with sufficient business competency training and skills (Ragas et al., 2015).

Berkowitz & Hristodoulakis (1999) conducted a quantitative study using heuristic methods and a cluster analysis that was geared toward PRSSA and PRSA members’ focus on the role of management orientation in PR education. Findings revealed that 66.7% of the management-oriented cluster students had taken a PR course, which differed from the 20.8% of students in the technician-oriented cluster. However, the most committed students and practitioners in management and technician orientations relied on real-life experience and academic courses to aid them.

Further qualitative commentary on real world action can be seen in Freburg et al.’s (2013) study on three perspectives of evidence-based practices (EBP), including research-based practices, client perspective and practitioner expertise. Three university classes were surveyed (n=128), and given a real-life scenario, qualitative response section and quantitative questionnaire to complete throughout this process. This resulted in “overwhelmingly positive” comments in which participants reported the assignment to be “interesting,” “relevant to the real world,” and “eye opening” across the 3 universities that were surveyed (Freburg et al., 2013).

Conclusion

The research examined in this brief revealed a number of standards for effective PR education, including greater autonomy and proper designation for PR programs, goals for improving writing skills at the academic and personal level and the potential for evidence-based practices to better support business competencies in PR professionals.

The findings from Gonçalves (2009), Ruler et al. (2004) Zhang et al. (2011) and Zhang et al. (2012) revealed a lack of autonomy and specialization with PR education. By continuing to house PR programs within the larger context of Communication Studies, students of varying locations and backgrounds are at a disadvantage when not only attempting to learn particular PR practice, but also when continuing post-graduate learning In the future, it will be beneficial for universities to be more disciplined in allowing PR programs to have great autonomy and proper designation.

Moving on from the structural format of classes, essential skills such as writing have a tendency to be neglected in academia and professional life. This is not solely due to issues with preparedness, but also with the way in which younger professionals perceive their skillset. This was seen in studies conducted by Gonçalves (2013) and Todd (2014) where the former found issues with the writing programs in Portugal and the latter found discrepancies in supervisors’ perception of younger employees’ skillset comparative to their own perception. In the future, universities with lacking PR writing courses would benefit from a heightened emphasis on components of strong professional writing, as evidenced by employers’ feedback. Students and young PR professionals would also benefit from reevaluating their skills using professional standards rather than solely relying on the ones used in academia.

Finally, as evidenced by Ragas et al. (2010), Berkowitz & Hristodoulakis (1999) and Freburg et al. (2013), business competency within PR is becoming more of a necessary skillset, despite having areas needing fine-tuning. Real life application and evidence-based practices are essential for future PR students and professionals, as it enables them to understand the often less emphasized principles of business. In the future, professional organizations and universities would benefit from conducting simulations that mimic applicable events to hone in on necessary business competencies, while working through a better system for integrating business classes into PR curricula.

References

Berkowitz, D., & Hristodoulakis, I. (1999). Practitioner roles, public relations education, and professional socialization: An exploratory study. Journal Of Public Relations Research, 11(1), 91-103.

Cameron, G. T., Sallot, L. M., & Lariscy, R. A. (1996). Developing standards of professional performance in public relations. Public Relations Review, 22(1), 43-61. doi:10.1016/s0363-8111(96)90070-3

Chung, W., & Choi, J. (2012). Professionalism in public relations pedagogy. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 67(4), 375-391. doi:10.1177/1077695812462348

Freberg, K., Remund, D., & Keltner-Previs, K. (2013). Integrating evidence based practices into public relations education. Public Relations Review,39(3), 235-237. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2013.03.005

Gonçalves, G. (2009). Public relations in Portugal. An analysis of the profession through the undergraduate curriculum. Public Relations Review, 35(3), 328-330. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2009.05.003

Gonçalves, G., Spínola, S. D., & Padamo, C. (2013). Analysing public relations education through international standards: The Portuguese case. Public Relations Review,39(5), 612-614. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2013.07.020

Hatzios, A., & Lariscy, R. W. (2008). Perceptions of utility and importance of international public relations education among educators and practitioners. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator,63(3), 241-258. doi:10.1177/107769580806300304

Li, C., Cropp, F., Sims, W., & Jin, Y. (2012). Perceived professional standards and roles of public relations in China: Through the lens of Chinese public relations practitioners. Public Relations Review, 38(5), 704-710. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2012.05.001

Ragas, M. W., Uysal, N., & Culp, R. (2015). “Business 101” in public relations education: An exploratory survey of senior communication executives. Public Relations Review,41(3), 378-380. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.02.007

Ruler, B. V., Vercic, D., Bütschi, G., & Flodin, B. (2004). A first look for parameters of public relations in Europe. Journal of Public Relations Research, 16(1), 1-34. doi:10.1207/s1532754xjprr1601_2

Todd, V. (2014). Public relations supervisors and Millennial entry-level practitioners rate entry-level job skills and professional characteristics. Public Relations Review,40(5), 789-797. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.05.002

Zhang, A., Jiang, H., & Luo, Y. (2012). Contemporary Chinese public relations education: Development and challenges. Asian Journal Of Communication, 22(4), 386-404. doi:10.1080/01292986.2012.681663

Zhang, A., Luo, Y., & Jiang, H. (2011). An inside-out exploration of contemporary Chinese public relations education. Public Relations Review, 37(5), 513-521. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.09.016