Perceptions of public relations education

A survey of 258 public relations educators and practitioners examined the s tate of public relations education across five dimensions: general percepti ons of public relations, education, desired educational outcomes for both s tudents and practitioners, assessment of student outcomes and learning, ele ments of public relations curricula, and teaching practices. Results indica te educators and practitioners agree that public relations education is on track and that systematic assessment is an important feature of public rela tions education. They also agreed on how public relations education should be structured and demonstrated a high degree of similarity in their prefere nces for teaching methods and techniques. Stacks is Professor and Director of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Miami. Botan is Associate Professor and Area Head for Public Relations in the Department of Communications at Purdue. VanSlyke Turk is Dean & Professor in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at th e University of South Carolina.