Elizabeth L. Toth Professor Emerita University of Maryland Maryland, USA Email: eltoth@umd.edu
ABSTRACT
This article further examines the 2023 quantitative research by the Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE) on KSAs and hiring characteristics desired and delivered/found as reported by public relations educators and practitioners. Specifically, the examination considers where significant differences between the groups exist. Another focus was investigating groupings of hiring characteristics between public relations educators and practitioners. Finally, a comparison of the CPRE recommended six-course standard was conducted between educators in the U.S. and those located outside the U.S. The study aims to guide curricular decisions for educators across the globe as well as foster conversations between educators and practitioners in public relations.
Keywords: Public relations education, KSAs, hiring characteristics, PR coursework
To cite this article: Shen, H., Bourland-Davis, P., & Toth, E.L. . (2024). CPRE Study: Educator/practitioner perceptions of student preparation and international comparisons of the six-course standard. Journal of Public Relations Education, 10(1), 6-46. https://journalofpreducation.com/?p=4571
Adrienne A. Wallace Associate Professor Grand Valley State University Editor in Chief, Journal of Public Relations Education Email: wallacad@gvsu.edu
Elizabeth L. Toth Professor Emerita University of Maryland Co-Editor, CPRE 2023 Report Email: eltoth@umd.edu
Pamela Bourland-Davis Professor Georgia Southern University Co-Editor, CPRE 2023 Report Email: pamelagb@georgiasouthern.edu
As the incoming editor of the Journal of Public Relations Education, I’ve been absolutely blown away and, frankly, dazzled by the dedication and talents of an all-volunteer team. Where else in the academy does one find an open-access journal run 100% on the time, talent, and treasure of volunteers? Are we crazy? Passionate? Both? Maybe. Anyway, I’m here for it and so are you! If you are so inclined to drop a note of thanks to our esteemed volunteers, you can find a listing of the full executive editorial board and editorial review board at this link.
JPRE welcomes the following members to the executive editorial board of directors:
Senior Associate Editor – Christopher McCollough, Ph.D., Jacksonville State University Associate Editor – Style – Luke Capizzo, Ph.D., APR, University of Missouri Associate Editor – Style – LaShonda L. Eaddy, Ph.D., APR, Penn State University Associate Editor – Layout Design & Web – Amanda J. Weed, Ph.D., APR, Kennesaw State University Assistant Editor – Layout Design – Haley Higgs, Ph.D., Georgia Southern University Associate Editor – Book/Resource Reviews – Jiun-Yi (Jenny) Tsai, Ph.D., Northern Arizona University Assistant Editor – Digital Media – Kate Stewart., Jacksonville State University
It’s my pleasure to thank Dr. Pamela Bourland-Davis for her endless support and enthusiasm for the growth and forward progress of this journal. As just the fourth editor in the journal’s history, it’s not lost on me that JPRE would not be the success it is without the legacy support of the past editors Pamela Bourland-Davis, Emily Kinsky, and Chuck Lubbers and critical support from Tiffany Gallicano. These esteemed scholars form the past editors’ council of JPRE – the foundation and backbone of the journal.
With each new editor, great strides have been made throughout JPRE’s history. As such, I’m pleased to announce the first marks that the incoming executive editorial board has made on the journal, starting with this issue:
We have updated each publication entry to simplify the process and improve website navigation, page loading time, and search. This will allow us to capitalize on precious volunteer hours as well as end keyword cannibalization and “keyword stuffing” of articles published as both a “blog style” post and a PDF on the same site. The appearance might change over time as we find out what is working and what is not working for the journal for search.
Sponsorship from the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin will create the Moody College of Communication Quality Reviewer Award with a cash prize to be awarded in August.
Sponsorship from The Arthur W. Page Center establishes the Page Center Ethics in PR Pedagogy Award with a cash prize – to be awarded in August.
Due to generous sponsorships from Moody College and the Page Center, JPRE will pursue CrossRef/DOI supplier registration and SCOPUS database participation to expand the journal’s footprint and impact.
As you can see, this good work cannot be maintained without donor aid. If you are interested in supporting JPRE financially, please message me (jpre@gvsu.edu) for a specialized sponsorship package.
Finally, those of you who attended the November event celebrating 50 years of the Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE) understand the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the 2023 CPRE report, Navigating Change. It’s my pleasure to present the guest editor commentary for special issue 10-1 below. This issue is a dynamic partner in implementing the report findings into our classrooms. Thank you to Pamela Bourland-Davis and Elizabeth Toth for their insight and lift in bringing this special issue to publication so swiftly.
Adrienne A. Wallace Editor in Chief Journal of Public Relations Education
The 2023 Commission on Public Relations Education report, Navigating Change: Recommendations for Advancing Undergraduate Public Relations Education, was published in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Commission. An 18-month process, the report emerged from crowdsourcing what practitioners and educators felt were the most critical topics for public relations, especially as we emerged from a global pandemic, and a myriad of other social and political issues. The result was a report focused on key elements related to the status of education, repeating key items from previous CPRE studies; the future of the workplace; critical strategic thinking; data insights and strategy; ethics; DEI; and, PR as a driver of social change.
Each of these topics was addressed via questions on an omnibus-style quantitative survey, “Page Conversations,” and through secondary research. The key findings are detailed in the report, along with recommendations – largely focused on educators. This issue of the Journal of Public Relations Education provides a deeper dive into some of the data, which was largely descriptive in the report. It also provides teaching suggestions to integrate the findings in the classroom.
Specifically, in this issue you’ll find additional information on the KSAs and hiring preferences as seen by practitioners versus educators, along with the differences between U.S. and international curriculum based on the respondents. Future of the workplace team members considered whether current job ads reflect the interests of Gen Z, the primary future employee workforce. Additional data insight and application in the classroom are offered through reports on critical strategic thinking and ethics. And finally, a classroom assignment based on one of the DEI recommendations is offered.
Because of the richness of the data, and the reported importance of these topics, we anticipate you’ll see additional publications and presentations emerging from the CPRE report in the future. The 2023 Report, Navigating Change, gives the most current thinking by experts. It also has a wealth of additional resources to learn how the seven-chapter topics are refining public relations knowledge. Here’s the link to the full report, the executive summary, and a student guide: https://www.commissionpred.org/navigating-change-report/
We walked away from this project concluding that undergraduate public relations education has made significant progress in establishing the educational foundations. At the same time, it would appear that we are seeing higher-than-ever expectations of our graduates from the public relations industry. The choice of topics included in the report implies that what is needed from future employees will be to think wholistically about how to create effective relationships for their employers within rapidly changing social and global expectations.
Elizabeth L. Toth, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA Professor Emerita, CPRE 2023 Report Co-Editor
Pamela Bourland-Davis, Ph.D. Professor, CPRE 2023 Report Co-Editor
Table of Contents
Editor’s Note Adrienne A. Wallace, Elizabeth L. Toth, and Pamela Bourland-Davis
The Journal of Public Relations Education (JPRE) is devoted to the presentation of research and commentary that advance the field of public relations education. JPRE invites submissions in the following three categories:
Research Articles
Teaching Briefs
Book/Software Reviews
Learn more by visiting the About JPRE page and the Authors/Contributors page for submission guidelines. All submissions should follow the guidelines of the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).
Building upon one of the five key recommendations of the Commission on Public Relations Education 2023 standards report, this teaching brief examines how educators can actualize their diversity, equity, and inclusion missions in public relations classrooms. Public relations educators can use this teaching brief to help undergraduate students understand the meaning, significance, and current climate of DEI, as they facilitate an in-class, interactive assignment where students examine organizations’ DEI missions by engaging in research, critical strategic thinking, and class discussions. Overall, this teaching brief aims to strengthen the ongoing work of embedding DEI in the public relations curriculum, as well as share practical implications for the public relations industry.
Keywords: Public relations education, diversity, equity, inclusion, resistance, belonging, actualizing DEI
To cite this article: Vasquez, R.A., Logan, N., Fussell Sisco, H., & Place, K. (2024). Actualizing the DEI mission in public relations classrooms. Journal of Public Relations Education, 10(1), 133-149. https://journalofpreducation.com/?p=4667
Shannon A. Bowen Professor University of South Carolina South Carolina, USA Email: sbowen@sc.edu
Denise Bortree Professor Penn State University Pennsylvania, USA Email: dsb177@psu.edu
ABSTRACT
Public relations practitioners need to be prepared to serve as ethics counselors and values managers. However, as revealed in the 2023 Commission on Public Relations Education report, public relations managers are not satisfied with the level of ethics knowledge possessed by recent graduates they have hired. Through additional analysis of the CPRE data collected from surveys with public relations practitioners and educators, this study reveals what topics managers believe should be taught related to public relations ethics to adequately prepare students for their careers. The results revealed significant deficiencies, especially in colleges and universities that do not offer standalone ethics courses, but simply integrate ethics content into other public relations courses. We provide specific recommendations of resources and pedagogical approaches for addressing five of the core topic areas.
To cite this article: Neill, M.S., Bowen, S.A., & Bortree, D. (2024). Identifying & addressing gaps in public relations ethics education. Journal of Public Relations Education, 10(1), 108-132. https://journalofpreducation.com/?p=4659
Editorial Record: Submitted March 13, 2024. Revised April 11, 2024. Accepted May 27, 2024. Published June 2024.
Author
Kenneth Plowman Associate Professor Brigham Young University Utah, USA Email: kenneth_plowman@byu.edu
Anna Klyueva Associate Professor University of Houston, Clear Lake Texas, USA Email: klyueva@uhcl.edu
Hongmei Shen Professor San Diego State University California, USA Email: hshen@sdsu.edu
Christopher Wilson Associate Professor Brigham Young University Utah, USA Email: chriswilson@byu.edu
Elina Erzikova Professor Central Michigan University Michigan, USA
ABSTRACT
Both educators and practitioners ranked critical and strategic thinking skills highly in the 2023 CPRE survey and stressed them as an important area to consider for future curriculum development. However, the 2023 CPRE report also highlighted that most critical and strategic thinking instruction is taken for granted in undergraduate public relations education. This article underscores the importance of developing critical and strategic thinking skills in public relations students through explicit instruction for future career success. Drawing from diverse perspectives on critical and strategic thinking and building on the findings from the 2023 CPRE report, the article proposes an integrated four-step DASA Model (Detecting, Analyzing, Strategizing, and Acting) for teaching the public relations process. The article offers an in-depth discussion of the DASA model application with specific examples of its in-class implementation and assessment of students’ metacognitive skills.
Keywords: Critical thinking, strategic thinking, DASA model, public relations process
To cite this article: Plowman, K., Klyueva, A., Shen, H., Wilson, C., & Erzikova, E. (2024). Teaching critical strategic thinking through the DASA model. Journal of Public Relations Education, 10(1), 79-107. https://journalofpreducation.com/?p=4645
Editorial Record: Submitted February 12, 2024. Revised March 5, 2024. Accepted April 11, 2024. Published June 2024.
Author
Charles A. Lubbers Professor University of South Dakota South Dakota, USA Email: chuck.lubbers@usd.edu
Debbie Davis Associate Professor of Practice Texas Tech University Texas, USA Email: debbie.davis@ttu.edu
Amiso George Professor Texas Christian University Texas, USA Email: a.george2@tcu.edu
Morgan Still Master’s Student Texas Tech University Texas, USA
Victoria Bacon Master’s Student Texas Tech University Texas, USA
ABSTRACT
The recent Commission on Public Relations (2023) report contains a chapter recommendation calling on PR educators to help students understand their priorities and values that might impact job searches and career plans. However, knowledge of their priorities and values is only helpful if the job information discusses them. Numerous studies have investigated employer expectations of PR job applicant’s skills based on analysis of the advertisement content. Few, if any, have examined the subject from the job candidate’s perspective, in this case, Generation (Gen) Z, those born from the mid-1990s to 2010. Employers need to understand the characteristics of Gen Z that differentiate them from previous generations if they are to effectively recruit and retain them in an increasingly competitive job market. This study examines the content of 102 employment advertisements being used by organizations to fill entry-level public relations positions to ascertain if they effectively communicate organizational values, priorities, and culture that would attract Gen Z candidates, such as the organization’s commitment to society and to the employees. Content analysis found that out of ten expectations and priorities important to Gen Z, only a mean of 2.7 were included in each ad. The four most common expectations and priorities included were doing meaningful/impactful work, commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging, providing modern technology, and workplace flexibility. Surprisingly, only seven ads mentioned the organization’s commitment to the environment.
Keywords: Generation Z, PR job advertisement, work-life balance, CPRE-Commission on Public Relations Education, DEIB, workplace expectations
To cite this article: Lubbers, C.A., Davis, D., George, A., Still, M., & Bacon, V. (2024). Are we speaking their language: The presence of content important to Gen Z in entry-level PR job advertisements. Journal of Public Relations Education, 10(1), 47-78. https://journalofpreducation.com/?p=4632
