Critical thinkers and capable practitioners : Preparing public relations students for the 21st century

Purpose – Educating the students to be capable practitioners for the future suggests that teachers be visionaries and futurologists to identify the skills required for the communication needs of society. The purpose of this paper is to argue for a sustainable curriculum – one that meets the needs of the present and prepares students to meet the demands of the future. Such a curriculum identifies the importance of developing student capability in critical thinking and in research methodology. It is an approach in which discussion, research activities and peer assessment can help to develop these dispositions and prepare students for effective participation in work and society for the long term. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on the pedagogical literature on discussion-led learning for critical inquiry and the use of peer review and feedback to provide the theoretical framework for the paper. Response data were collected from a postgraduate public relations (PR) class where two initiatives were introduced. Findings – Student responses to discussion-led inquiry and peer review were positive and provided an excellent basis for ongoing critical practice in the workplace. By encouraging criticality through small interventions at the undergraduate level, postgraduate and entry-level practitioners will sustain strong critical thinking abilities to apply in the work place. Research limitations/implications – The initiatives were introduced in one year and reviewed and adapted for the second iteration. The postgraduate classes are small which limits the implications of the research recommendations and conclusions. Practical implications – By modelling the discussion process in class and encouraging students to articulate their thoughts and arguments, teachers are able to introduce learning moments and opportunities which can lead to further discussion. By these means, students learn to evaluate arguments and make ethical judgments about the practice of PR in a variety of different contexts. Social implications – Practising critical thinking skills, alongside the tactical vocational skills, provide future practitioners with the ability to extend their creativity in search of practical solutions to issues faced by society and organizations in the twenty-first century. University-educated graduates of PR can make a strong, ethical and creative contribution to society through constant questioning of basic assumptions and through their curiosity about power balances and issues. They will embrace technological innovation as another tool in the PR toolkit to engage stakeholders in creative ways. Originality/value – By using a range of pedagogical strategies, it is possible for teachers to promote a critically informed approach to practice. Students learn to question basic assumptions and biases and to develop strong intellectual skills. These, in turn, will provide the basis for ethical communication practices and contribute to new and creative ways of thinking about society and its communication needs.