Public relations education has evolved and come a long way in many respects. The Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE) has explored the trends, issues, and needs for public relations programs for the last several years, and they provide some regular reports on the current state of the PR curriculum on a vast array of different topics. The last report that came out was back in 2006, which was the basis of my very first teaching research paper for AEJMC nearly ten years ago (WOW!).
We got the latest report in our hands at The Bridge Conference (sponsored by the Institute for Public Relations) last week. You can see the write up PR Week did for the main findings in the report.
I had the opportunity to be part of the technology chapter for the CPRE (with a great leader in Emily Kinsky) and professional friends such as Deirdre Breakenridge, Serena Ehlrich, and Phil Gomes. All of these professionals contributed their ideas, insights and perspectives in this part of the CPRE report.
There were certainly some interesting findings from the report across the board, but what I found that was unique, and relevant for what I try to cover in my social classes, is the gap that still needs to be addressed in education for practitioners. From a PR perspective, there appears to still be a gap between what should be emphasized in PR classes, versus what should be taught. From the difference between big idea plans (ex. campaign planning, etc) to specific areas of specialization (ex. media planning, etc), there were some big differences there.
However, there was ONE class or subject area where the practitioners and educators were aligned the same. What class was this?
Social media.
I am not surprised, but at the same time, I was pleased to see the work many of the great social media professors out there were doing to help address the growing expectations and needs here for the field.
What are some of the other things from the report that are important to note here for researchers, students, and professionals? Here are some things I wanted to share with you.
There’s still work to be done in addressing the gap between practice and education. While social media classes are aligned here for what we need to do to prepare our students for what’s expected for the profession, there are other classes and areas that need some additional work in. I think this is a call to our profession on what needs to be done, but also a guide to where we need to go.
Pedagogy research is more important than ever before. This report does show that there is much work to be done, and one way to explore the impact of these suggestions is through research. I looked at the 2006 report and this was the basis of my first teaching research project. Now, nearly ten years later, I see this as a strong call-to-action for young professionals to ask the questions that need to be explored, but also see what can be done to truly answer the questions practitioners need answers to. We can do this with pedagogy research. I’m excited to see more professors embrace this specialization as a core research area, and I am hopeful to see it continue to grow. We need more researchers in this area to help answer the bridge questions this report raises.
We also have to recognize where innovation is happening in the classroom. One thing I have noticed in the field – whether it is in PR or even in social media – is where the innovation is happening in classroom advances. Some may say it is happening in the dominant programs with pristine reputations, but in fact, I have found some of the best work in the classroom has been done in schools that are emerging. We have to see what these innovative professors are doing to be on the forefront of the field, and see what we can do to make these practices universally accepted and adapted into the PR curriculum.
What are your thoughts about the report and what struck out for you? Let’s continue the conversation and discussion. I am again very honored to have had a part of this report and have the opportunity to make a contribution to the field of public relations education.
Have a great day.
Best Wishes,
