1. Introducción
1.3. Efecto del nacimiento de hermanos: El Conflicto Parento-filial
1.3.2. Efecto del nacimiento de hermanos en Calitrícidos
It was clear that writing skills were of immense concern to all practitioners. For example, Defazio et al (2010) noted: ‘the majority of students do not possess the skills necessary to
effectively communicate in a written format that will enable them to become successful upon graduation’ (p 34). Another study by Kim and Johnson (2009) found that the most important
skill for PR practitioners to possess is the most basic communication skill – clear writing for intended audiences. Additionally, Wilcox and Nolte (1997) asserted that writing is the most essential skill for all public relations work. In fact, Tench (2003) stressed:
Writing is one of the foundations of a successful public relations practitioner and the ability to communicate messages clearly and concisely is one of their differentiating skills. (Tench, 2003 p 139).
The practitioners interviewed in this study expressed disdain at the writing skills of PR graduates:
The level of third level illiteracy I encounter all of the time is shocking. (Sally, NPRG).
…..their ability to write, again woefully bad, in graduates, woefully bad on any level, really bad. (Elaine, PRG).
And I just know from talking to journalists that there is some atrocious PR writing out there – desperate and I think you’ve an important – thinking like a journalist is important. (Ruby, PRG).
Thus, the findings from practitioners reflect the findings from literature reviewed. To be fair, this is not an issue just confined to PR graduates. Writing is an issue across the board in higher education and as noted by Lea and Street (1998) many academic staff claim that students can no longer write.
Todd (2009) recommended that practitioners should work closely with educators to develop writing assignments and assessment measures to help students learn how to write clear messages targeted toward publics using current technology. Although this warrants further
190 research and discussion, it is worth noting here that although writing skills are embedded across the PR syllabi on the course I teach in, a separate module called ‘Research and Writing Skills’ has been implemented on all courses in our Institute in the past few years, to reflect this very serious concern.
Separately, as expected, much emphasis was placed on social media skills with one
practitioner referring to the ‘four pillar skillset’ of video, social, analytical and search engine optimisation skills. The literature (e.g. Alexander, 2004) also recommended that the PR curriculum should focus on a range of specialist technological skills include database management, creating engaging and interactive websites, understanding software and being able to conduct online research. Some practitioners interviewed for this research emphasised the importance of business being included on the PR curricula. For example, Carl (NPRG) expressed a regret that he didn’t realise how important it was to understand the nature of business with the occupation of public relations:
Yes, absolutely. Business management skills, reading a balance sheet, you know, sort of basic accountancy skills, I think, would have been extremely helpful to me down the years, and it’s something that I have now, but it has taken a long time. So I think basic business management skills would be very important. (Carl, non PRG).
This was also emphasised in recent research by Neill and Schauster (2015) who suggested that business education should consist of reading financial documents, budgeting, applying business vocabulary and understanding the challenges of business. Additionally, Ragas, Uysal and Culp (2015) also found in their study that senior communication executives place high importance on business acumen, but they also stressed that practitioners should consider devoting more time to working with educators and academic associations if they expect more business acumen from graduates (p 380).
Separately, although these findings are similar to literature in Ireland and internationally, (e.g. PRII 2014; Smith 2013; DiStaso, Stacks and Botan 2009; Fawkes and Tench 2004), it was interesting that some skills, knowledge and attributes are unique to Ireland. For example, the
191 emphasis on learning ‘body language skills’ and ‘learning how to converse around a dinner table’ are worthy of further discussion and exploration.
PR practitioners were more aware of the challenges for PR educators given the rapid pace of changes in technology and specified more of an emphasis on developing attributes such as a ‘sense of curiosity’ and a ‘willingness to learn’.
What was probably most interesting in relation to the findings from this chapter was the fact that most practitioners stressed the importance of graduate attributes for an entry-level graduate rather than a specific skillset for entry into a public relations career. Of course practitioners did bemoan the lack of good writing skills, but the overall emphasis was on the development of attributes such as ‘confidence’, ‘resilience’ ‘cop-on’, ‘common sense’ and ‘passion’.
The literature also stressed the development of graduate attributes in higher education but the question pivots on whether or not these attributes can be taught. The findings are similar to international research. For example Fitch (2014) found that:
The ideal curriculum offered both a broad education as well as expertise in public relations, suggesting university led PR education served to not only introduce students to theory and practice of PR, but to also develop their intellectual problem solving skills through a well-rounded education (Fitch, 2014 p 627).
The literature review chapter has already highlighted a concern that higher education institutions have yet to develop teaching and learning strategies that can both support graduate attributes and provide evidence of their achievement through appropriate criteria and standards (Barrie 2005).
Additionally, Barrie’s (2004) graduate attribute framework highlighted in the literature could be used as a base for further discussion amongst PR academics, practitioners and professional bodies towards developing a specific graduate attributes PR framework for PR education.
192 Of course there are concerns in relation to graduate attributes in higher education. For
example, Boden and Nedava (2010), suggest that the ongoing neoliberalisation of higher education has resulted in employability being a performative function of universities, shaped and directed by the State. It is argued however that rather than produce docile employees, that the inclusion of development of graduate attributes, as well as an emphasis on a specific skillset, may be important in producing employers/leaders from higher education.
However, perhaps this need not be an either/or argument in the sense that any
‘employability’ training in HE does not preclude the role of HE to also include preparation for the workplace as well as HE contributing to ‘individual fulfilment and the collective
good’, (Cassells 2015, p iii). Given that one of the most stark findings of this chapter seems
to me to be the emphasis on the graduate attributes of entry level graduates more so than specific public relations skills, it may also be argued that a ‘public relations employability’ module could be embedded into PR curricula to ensure that graduates are prepared for the workplace. The Association of Higher Education Careers Services has produced such a module called ‘Crafting the Present for Future Employability’ and it is recommended that findings from further research into a public relations employability module could be embedded into the PR curriculum.
The literature noted that the skills required to manage public relations are undergoing constant and dramatic change (Chan, 2004). I argue however that any undergraduate
education should be set in the broader framework of a lifelong learning process rather simply be an end in itself, (Hager and Holland, 2006).
What this means is that industry wants education to continue to focus on preparing them for employment and for entering the profession , but L’Etang and Pieczka (1996) argue that public relations practitioners must be generalists and develop a habit of flexibility and a sensitivity to different ways of seeing the world (1996, p 11).
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