Public Relations Journal Vol. 6, No. 3

ISSN 1942-4604

© 2012 Public Relations Society of America

Beyond Reading, Writing, and Research: Assessing (and Enhancing) the Political and Economic Competency of

U.S. Public Relations Majors

Sandra Duhé, Ph.D., APR

In recent years, public relations pedagogy has received ample and much-deserved attention aimed at enhancing the professionalism of the field. The Professional Bond – Public Relations Education and the Practice, a 2006 report issued by the Commission on Public Relations Education (a group of scholars and practitioners), did much to solidify recommendations for public relations education without being overly prescriptive or U.S.-centric. As a result of this and related efforts to tie pedagogy to practice, public relations students are being educated in a more consistent manner and are discovering through conferences, internships, and entry-level positions that their burgeoning skills are transferable across geographic regions and, indeed, are in demand by corporate, non-profit, and government entities alike. One of the greatest thrills for an educator is to witness graduates experience both the nervous uncertainty of embarking on a “real” job and the subsequent realization that Duhé — Public Relations Journal — Vol. 6, No. 3