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An Analysis Of Commercial And Educational Public Relations Techniques Forschools

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An Analysis Of Commercial And Educational Public Relations Techniques Forschools

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Content This dissertation has hew
mlcrofflm«d MtMtlr u r*c«tT«d 66*8781
DEAN, John Frederick, 1926-
AN ANALYSIS OF COMMERCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL
PUBLIC RELATIONS TECHNIQUES FOR SCHOOLS.
University of Southern California, Ed J ).t 1966
Education, administration
University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
AN ANALYSIS OF COMMERCIAL AND
EDUCATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS
TECHNIQUES FOR SCHOOLS
A Dissertation
‘ Presented to
THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
by
John Frederick Dean
June 1966
This dissertation, written under the direction
of the Chairman of the candidate’s Guidance
Committee and approved by all members of the
Committee, has been presented to and accepted
by the Faculty of the School of Education in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Education.
Date. JD N l^.lytoO
Guidance Committee
To my wife Katherine, Karol, and Brian . . .
for enduring the privations of cabin fever,
enabling Dad to earn the degree.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF RESPONSES...............................................................
‘ Chapter
I . THE PROBLEM AND THE PROCEDURE................
Introduction
The Problem
Purpose of the study
Delimitations of the study
Importance of the study
Assumptions and Objectives
Assumptions
Objectives
Definition of T erm s
Public relations
Board of Education
Community
Public information specialist
Schools
National School Public Relations Association
Chapter presidents
Jury
Publics
The Procedure
Background information
Endorsement of the study
Function of lib rary research
Developing the questionnaire
Developing the survey
Distribution of the instrum ents
Organization of the D issertation
II. EDUCATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS:
FINDINGS FROM THE LITERA TU RE..............
Introduction
Chapter
Page
Historical evolution of American public
education
An evolving public relations
The role of the teacher
The media of public relations
The case for public relations
The "how" of educational public relations
Summary of the Chapter
1 1 1 . COMMERCIAL PUBLIC RELATIONS:
FINDINGS FROM THE LITERA TU RE...................... 60
Introduction
The beginnings of public relations
What is public relations?
The role of public relations
Engineering support through persuasion
The Media of Communication
The spoken word
Radio and television
Films and fi’mstrips
Newspapers
Company publications
Pamphlets and brochures
Annual reports
Direct mailings
Magazines
Displays
Visual aids
The Methods of Communication
Oral communication
Radio and television
Visual devices
Themes, symbols, and slogans
Direct mail
Annual reports
Magazines
Newspapers
v
Chapter Page
Building an image
Advertising in public relations
Summary of the Chapter
IV. RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE ON
COMMERCIAL PUBLIC RELATIONS
TECHNIQUES................................................................105
Introduction
Procedure
Data from the questionnaire
Responses to the questionnaire
Rank order of acceptable techniques
Summary of rejected techniques
Summary of the Chapter
V. RESPONSES TO THE SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL
PUBLIC RELATIONS TECHNIQUES......................... 153
Introduction
Procedure
Professional positions of the respondents
Responses to the Survey
Curriculum
Unsuccessful techniques in curriculum
Business functions
Unsuccessful techniques in business
functions
Personnel
Unsuccessful personnel techniques
Summary of the Chapter
VI. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................. 180
Summary
Restatement of the problem
vi
Chapter Page
Assumptions
Objectives
The Procedure
Summary of the Findings
Findings from the educational literature
Findings from the commercial literatu re
Findings from the questionnaire
Findings from the survey
Attainment of the objectives
Conclusions
Implications
Recommendations
Suggestions for Further Study
APPENDICES ............................................................................... 204
APPENDIX A .......................................................................... 205
APPENDIX B .......................................................................... 207
APPENDIX C .......................................................................... 215
APPENDIX D .......................................................................... 219
APPENDIX E .......................................................................... 221
APPENDIX F .......................................................................... 223
APPENDIX G .......................................................................... 225
APPENDIX H .......................................................................... 227
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................. 229
vii
LIST OF RESPONSES
Response Page
1. Use of a tradem ark or sy m b o l.................................. 108
2. Development of an inexpensive, professional
quality film ............................................................ 108
3. Use of adm inistrators as substitute teachers . . . 109
4. Arranging a weekly radio interview program . . . 110
5. Sponsoring a charity program in the community . I l l
6. Slogans for a particular purpose ............................. 112
7. Using humor in printed m a te ria ls ............................. 113
8. Seeking opinions of staff m e m b e rs .......................... 113
9. Contacting teachers for new public relations
id e a s .......................................................................... 114
10. Seeking testimonials for campaigns ....................... 115
11. Awards from local in d u stry ........................................ 116
.12. Sponsoring of worthy group by te a c h e rs .................. 116
13. Writing letters of w e lc o m e ........................................ 117
14. Personal calls by superintendent............................... 118
15. Writing personal letters to p a re n ts .......................... 119
16. Holding regular board meetings in parts of the
c i t y ............................................................................. 119
viii
Response Page
17. Writing letters to influence legislation.................... 120
18. Building a file of feature articles ............ 121
19. News releases combining school and civic
e v e n ts ...................................................................... 122
20. Issuing an annual r e p o r t ............................................ 122
21. Using professional term s with the p u b lic ............... 123
22. Informing the public of honors and achievements . 124
23. Introducing personnel to the com m unity................. 124
24. Submitting an informal annual report to the
em p lo y ees.............................................................. 125
25. Sending regular reports to the com m unity 126
26. Using private public relations com panies............... 126
27. Printing small pressure*-sensitive la b e ls ............... 127
28. Distributing imprinted name badges free of charge. 128
29. Printing professionally information for the
p u b lic ...................................................................... 129
30. Using classified advertising .................................... 130
31. Developing film and slide m a te r ia ls ...................... 130
32. Report specific dollar and cents cost of
education by d a y ................................................... 131
33. Subscribing to newspapers of other com
munities ................................................................... 132
34. Exchanging printed materials with other
school d is tric ts ...................................................... 133
ix
Response Page
35. Conducting slogan c o n te s ts ........................................ 133
36. Preparing differing m aterials for different
audiences................................................................. 134
37. Mailing m aterials to the h o m e .................................. 135
38. Introducing school campaigns with cocktail
p a rtie s ....................................................................... 136
39. Distributing press k i t s ................................................ 136
40. Preparation of m aterials to assure coverage . . . . 137
41. Identifying the district with a s lo g a n ....................... 138
42. Reaching the community with direct-m ail
te c h n iq u e s............................................................... 138
43. Community recognition of te a c h e rs.......................... 139
44. School news in retail a d v e rtis in g ............................. 140
45. Honoring students by teacher organizations ... . 141
46. Graduate study by the teaching s t a f f ....................... 142
47. Availability of graduate study for staff
m e m b e rs ................................................................. 142
48. Reporting the problems as well as the goals
achieved ................................................................. 143
49. Personal calls by a d m in is tra to rs ............................ 144
50. Presenting avocational interests to civic
g ro u p s....................................................................... 145
x
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND THE PROCEDURE
Introduction
Public relations is a multimillion dollar business which
influences the budgets of every commercial enterprise which has
the public as an ultimate consumer. Wooing, educating, training,
and enticing the consumer to think of a given product o r service in
a favorable fashion is recognized by the commercial world as the
cornerstone on which future success is based. Not only are these
actions looked upon as a necessity in conducting a business, but
they build "good will" which has dollar value if the business is sold.
Education, as a profession, provides a service, and, as
such, could be expected to perform certain functions incumbent
upon the service professions toward creating "good will" among its
various publics. Although "good will" engendered by the education
al profession in general, and the community schools in particular,
would not have commercial value, the presence or absence of "good
will" could make itself known dramatically in the one place where
the community may voice its approval or disapproval . . . at the
election polls.
Public education provides a service directly, when the con
sumer is a student, or indirectly, as the community is influenced
by the direct consumer, and that educational influence on a com
munity is inescapable. The public schools are established by law
and will never be forced to file bankruptcy by a public which has
become disenchanted with the service and product. Unlike the com
mercial world, which must maintain good relations with the public
to remain open for business, the public schools could very well
keep the public relatively uninformed about its schools and continue
business as usual. Realistically, this is im possible. As Reeder
states, 'The schools were established by the people. They are
financed by the people, and they belong to the people. The people
are, therefore, entitled to regular and truthful information about
them ." (35:4) It is apparent, then, why every author of school
administration texts and public relations publications voices the
opinion that good public relations is not only recommended but
absolutely required for successful school program s.
School personnel who maintain that public relations pro
grams are not necessary when the schools are graduating well-
educated consumers are reminded by Brownell, 'It is not enough
to have a good program and effective techniques of instruction.
3
There still remains the problem of telling about it and the more
imperative duty of helping people to understand the educational
pattern and its importance." (8:40)
Communities will support schools financially regardless of
the quality of the public information program . The public gener
ally has recourse if it reaches the point where the citizens are un
able to accept the quality of education offered to their children.
Recall moves against the Board of Trustees and denial of bond and
tax elections are two major weapons in the hands of the public.
Although these weapons are not used extensively, the public has
these rights by virtue of state constitutions, and these responsi
bilities may be exercised when people lose contact with their
schools.
Although it is possible that some educational public re la
tions program s were inaugurated because school personnel were
afraid of grave consequences, it would be fair to assume that most
were initiated for more positive reasons.
Two major outcomes of good public relations program s
are cited by Dapper and Ungaro. Gloria Dapper, reporting in
Public Relations for Educators, states, "A good public relations
program encourages good teachers to apply for jobs in the com
munity. " (12:67) Ungaro refers to the increased community
resources which become available to schools and children when
parents are well-inform ed about the needs and desires of the school
(39). Although these advantages may be serendipitous in nature,
they are vital to the improvement of any instructional program .
T here is little question concerning the need for a good
school-community information program . The challenge facing
most district superintendents charged with effectively adm inistering
all facets of the school program is this: How do we do it?
The Problem
Purpose of the study
Most school adm inistrators and virtually all authors of
school adm inistration texts agree that public relations is an im
portant aspect of education today. Increasing public interest in
its schools tends to indicate to school boards and adm inistrators
that some type of public relations program should be organized to
give the public the information it d esires.
Few graduate schools require public relations courses for
school adm inistrators. Although various adm inistration courses
often provide an overview of public relations requirem ents, there
is little opportunity to present specific techniques with which the
prospective adm inistrators may tell the school story successfully.
Most adm inistrators, therefore, a re expected to develop effective
community-relations program s without the benefit of having studied
appropriate techniques.
It was the purpose of this study to seek the most successful
public relations techniques currently used by public school adm inis
trato rs throughout the United States.
It was also the purpose of this study to find those techniques
which, on the basis of adm inistrators' experiences, should not be
used.
A third purpose of the study was to seek an untapped source
of possible community-relations techniques in which new ideas may
be found . . . the field of commercial public relatio n s. As a
multimillion dollar industry, public relations companies employ
large staffs to develop new methods and techniques by which pro
ducts and services may be promoted. It is possible that some of
these successful commercial techniques could be utilized by school
personnel to increase the public knowledge of its schools.
Delimitations of the study
A prim ary goal of this study was the reporting of current
successful public relations methods and techniques in education and
the commercial field. Respondents to the educational public
6
relations survey were requested to report successful practices
conducted or observed since January, 1963.
Commercial techniques were limited to those reported in
the literature between January, 1963, and April, 1965.
The panel of specialists in school public relations was com
posed of presidents of the twenty-five chapters of the National
School Public Relations Association, or their appointed represen
tatives, for the 1964-65 school year.
The jury of twelve nationally recognized specialists was
limited to those nominated by the secretary-treasurer (executive
secretary) of the National School Public Relations Association.
Importance of the study
There is no question of the need for an organized public
relations program in education today. Whether or not school
boards and adm inistrators agree that the time devoted to this work
is an appropriate function of administration, the publics expect to
be kept informed about schools. Authors of administration texts
may differ as to. the kind of program which should be conducted or
the extent to which the chief adm inistrator should provide this
service to his community. There is no disagreement, however,
concerning the establishment of an organized community infor
mation program .
Neither is there disagreement concerning the major
problems found in organizing and conducting an effective public
relations program. In its Twenty-eighth Yearbook, the American
Association of School Administrators (A AS A) identifies these
general problems as:
a. Deciding upon the goals to be attained by the public
relations program and the underlying philosophy upon which
it should be based;
b. Diagnosing community needs and problems;
c. Planning a public relations program related to the
needs of the community;
d. Setting up an efficient working organization;
e. Evaluating the program and its various activities.
(1:254)
Administrators inexperienced in developing public commu
nication activities will welcome this identification of problems to be
met and conquered as reported by AASA. Other chapters within
the publication offer ideas and methods under the subjects of School
Board, Superintendent, School Personnel, Professional Organiza
tions, Management, and Finance.
Experienced school administrators who are aware of the
benefits of a public relations effort organize their programs to
solve the problems proposed by AASA and a multitude of authors
in the field. For the working, well-organized administrator, his
needs are more likely to be found in the area of fresh ideas with
which to work.
8
Most of the public relations texts written over the past
thirty years give the same types of suggestions for an "effective"
community relations effort. The topics usually included are: staff
relations, parent groups, organized community groups, school
publications, newspapers, radio and television, and citizens'
advisory com m ittees. H ie experienced adm inistrator is utilizing
all o r most of the media available to him.
The purpose of this study, then, is to help both experi
enced and inexperienced adm inistrators to tell their school stories
more effectively through new ideas which have been proven in
school districts across Am erica. Truly effective public relations
campaigns are m ore apt to be the products of professional organi
zers and w riters whose livelihood depends on the successful pro
motion of a product or service. The second purpose of this study,
then, is to glean from the comm ercial literature ideas, methods,
and techniques which appear to be adaptable to the promotion of
educational causes.
The third purpose is a negative one: to find and report
ideas which did not work or were ineffective for adm inistrators in
the field.
Assumptions and Objectives
Assumptions
In any study, certain assumptions must be made which will
perm it the development of appropriate procedures. For this study,
the assumptions were:
1. The community is interested in its schools and will
continue to demand information about them .
2. Many of the public relations problem s in private
business and education are sim ilar.
3. The chapter presidents of the National School Public
Relations Association are a representative sample
of qualified public relations specialists in educa
tion in the United States.
0
4. The literature of commercial public relations is
sufficient in scope to reveal many and varied
techniques of the profession.
5. There is a real need to uncover additional public
relations techniques with which education can
create a better understanding of its current needs and
objectives.
6. The jury members nominated by the executive se c re
tary of the National Public Relations Association
10
are a representative sample of outstanding educa
tional public relations specialists.
Objectives
The objectives of this research were:
1. To seek commercial public relations techniques
which would be appropriate in educational public
relations;
2. To establish that a jury of educational specialists
can adapt the identified commercial techniques
to educational purposes;
3. To identify the most successful and least success
ful public relations techniques witnessed or uti
lized by National School Public Relations Associa
tion chapter presidents; and
4. To develop a series of effective public relations
techniques which could be utilized by school
personnel to interpret the total school program
to the community.
Definition of Term s
Some of the following term s may be utilized in referring
11
to either public or private enterprise, and should be interpreted in
that manner.
Public relations
Public relations is the attempt to engineer public support
for an activity, cause, or institution through information or per
suasion.
Board of Education
A Board of Education re fers to that elected body responsible
for the setting of policy under which a public school shall operate.
Community
Community refers to those persons living or working in a
geographical area of a school district or an individual school which
is acknowledged as being within the institution's immediate sphere
of influence.
Public information specialist
A public information specialist is a member of the Chief
Adm inistrator's staff who organizes and directs the public relations
program .
12
Schools
Schools refers to both public and private institutions rang
ing from the preschool through the graduate level. Where lim ita
tions are imposed that limitation is cited.
National School Public Relations
Association
The National School Public Relations Association is a pro
fessional organization within the National Education Association,
and is composed of school teachers and adm inistrators dedicated
to the purpose of helping the education profession to improve the
public image of the schools. NSPRA is the accepted abbreviation
for the National School Public Relations Association.
Chapter presidents
Chapter presidents refers to those members elected to
this office by members of their twenty-five national chapters of
NSPRA.
Jury
The jury in this study refers to the twelve leading special
ists in school public relations who agreed to react to commercial
techniques gleaned from the literature.
13
Publics
Publics, as a plural noun, refers to the various groups
within the community o r the society whose interests and needs
differ from one another.
The Procedure
Background information
Public relations in any field is interesting and exciting.
The challenge in "engineering consent,M as Bernays states (3),
appears to know no occupational bounds. All vocations offer a
challenge to the public relations-minded and education appears to
be one of the vocations to which writers from many fields believe
they can offer needed suggestions. Many authors of public relations
texts for education are active or retired school administrators.
Others are professional news writers who have had the "school
beat. " Occasionally a professional public relations executive
with some knowledge of education will publish in the periodicals.
Several publications appear to have been adapted from materials
gathered in achieving graduate degrees.
The literature in the field of educational public relations
is relatively extensive. However, in reviewing the literature
prior to the development of this study, no reference could be found
14
which indicated that the commercial field had been examined in the
development of public relations techniques for schools.
It appeared that, although vast sums of money are expended
annually to develop techniques for the promotion of goods and
services commercially, none of these sources had been examined
for the purpose of promoting educational needs. This point was
discussed with the committee chairman, and a preliminary pro
spectus was prepared.
As originally conceived, the study would include the jury
of nationally recognized specialists. Practitioners of the art of
public relations would be limited to those employed in the public
schools of California. This part of the procedure was changed
after a careful study of the California Administrative Directory,
which indicated that few persons charged with public relations
responsibilities within their districts would be designated in that
manner in the directory. Therefore, those who would have been
selected to participate in the study would not necessarily represent
the thinking of public relations specialists in California.
A more representative sample of public information
specialists was identified when the decision was made to request
15
the participation of chapter presidents of the twenty-five chapters
of NSPRA.
Endorsement of the study
The study was discussed personally with D r. Roy K. Wilson,
Secretary-T reasurer of the National School Public Relations Associ
ation. He agreed to investigate endorsement possibilities with the
Board of D irectors after a formal request had been made for such
endorsement to the national organization.
L etters were sent requesting the endorsement of the
national body and the nomination of twelve specialists recognized
nationally as leaders in school public relations.
The study received the endorsement of the national group.
T here is little doubt that this endorsement was responsible, to a
great extent, for the 100 per cent return given by the ju ry . (See
Appendix A for a copy of the endorsement le tte r.)
Function of library research
Basic to this study was a thorough search of current lite ra
ture in public relations. The study was planned as a combination
of library research with a questionnaire and a survey of present
practices in selected areas throughout the United States.
The purpose of the library research was twofold: (1) to
16
locate and report successful practices in the educational public
relations literature, and (2) to research the commercial public
relations field for possible techniques which could be used in edu
cation.
The search for the most successful techniques in educa
tional literature was centered primarily in the texts by leading
specialists in the field.
Research in the commercial field was directed prim arily
toward the periodical literature where current ideas are reported.
Weekly journals and monthly house organs covering the two-year
period from January, 1963, to April, 1965, were studied. Although
text m aterials are limited in providing recent techniques, some
were found which contributed ideas toward building the survey.
Developing the questionnaire
One objective in this study was to seek commercial public
relations techniques which would be appropriate in educational
public relations. With recency of use, as well as educational
application as major goals, the literature of commercial public
relations and advertising was gleaned for reports of techniques
which appeared to offer utility in education.
Literally hundreds of ideas were located, reviewed, and
17
considered with the ultimate goal of fifty techniques which would be
evaluated by the jury. Once the fifty techniques were established,
each idea was summarized in not more than seven lines for in
clusion in the survey instrument. The report of each idea or tech
nique had to be complete enough to give the respondent an oppor
tunity to judge it without allowing the questionnaire to become too
lengthy.
Following each summarized technique was a three o r four
line adaptation of the idea for educational use. In the left margin,
four rating choices were given for each idea. The respondents
were requested to rate each technique for possible educational
utilization. The ratings were: "Outstanding," "Good," "Weak, "
and "Should Not Be Used. "
The completed questionnaire covered seven typewritten
pages, and was approved for distribution to the twelve specialists
for their evaluation. (See Appendix B for a copy of the question
naire.)
Developing the survey
The second instrument was a survey developed to be sent
to the chapter presidents of the twenty-five chapters of NSPRA
located in states across the nation. The purpose of the survey was
twofold. The first purpose was to learn the most successful
18
techniques used o r observed by the respondents in the areas of
business functions, curriculum , and personnel. Each technique
reported was to have occurred since January, 1963.
These three areas were selected in the belief that they
represented all areas of school activity within which public relations
effort could o r would be expended. Examples were given of the
types of activities to be considered within each area. Business
functions, for example, were to include transportation, bond
and tax elections, food services, and annual reports. Curriculum
was to include any level o r subject. Personnel could include in-
service education and recruitm ent of certificated or classified
employees or any other aspect within this classification.
The second portion of this survey requested the reporting
of a technique which failed and should not be used by others. This
section was added at the suggestion of the committee chairman as
an aid to those who may review this study for more than academic
purposes. Although this portion of the survey was not fully
utilized by the respondents, some pitfalls which could entice the
less experienced adm inistrator were reported.
The three-page survey was approved for distribution to
the twenty-five NSPRA chapter presidents. (See Appendix C for a
copy of the survey.)
19
Distribution of the instruments
With the letter of endorsement by the National School
Public Relations Association, Dr. Roy K. Wilson, Secretary-
T reasurer, sent two lists of names. One contained the twelve
school public relations specialists he nominated as national leaders.
The second list was a roster of current presidents of the twenty-
five chapters of NSPRA for the 1964-65 school year.
A double postal card was addressed to each of the chapter
presidents which described the study and requested their assistance
in completing the survey. Each recipient was asked to return the
card indicating the name of the chapter member who would com
plete the instrument. Nineteen, or 76 per cent, of the presidents
responded. Of the nineteen, fifteen agreed to complete the survey
themselves. Four gave the names of other officers within their
chapters who would complete the form s. (See Appendix D for a
copy of the postal card.)
Ten days after the initial response was received, follow-up
cards were sent to the remaining six presidents requesting the
return of the card identifying the person who would complete the
instrument. No further cards were received, and it was deter
mined that other means should be used to encourage their partici
pation.
20
The names of those who planned to complete the survey
were sent immediately to Dr. Roy K. Wilson. Acting in his capaci
ty as secretary-treasurer (executive secretary), he sent personal
letters to each chapter president, or his designate, citing the
endorsement and requesting his assistance in completing the survey.
(See Appendix E for a copy of the letter.)
After allowing a few days for the NSPRA letter to reach the
respondent, the survey and a cover letter were sent to the proper
chapter officer. (See Appendix F for a copy of the cover letter.)
The six officers who failed to respond to the postal cards
were sent letters from D r. Wilson and surveys followed in an
attempt to encourage their response. However, no communication
was received from these chapters.
The questionnaire citing fifty commercial techniques was
sent to the twelve specialists following a letter from D r. Wilson
in which he gave the NSPRA endorsement and requested their
assistance. A cover letter accompanied the questionnaire to give
the respondent m ore complete information about the study.
Although the questionnaire was not designed to allow com
ments by the jury members, several jotted notes in the margin to
justify their responses to given item s. These comments, as
appropriate, are reported in Chapter IV.
21
All mailings were completed about the middle of May, 1965,
allowing approximately one month before many of the respondents
would be leaving their schools or offices for the summer months.
Each piece of correspondence included a date by which the instru
ment should be returned to the researcher.
Within a few days, there was a 100 per cent return of the
completed questionnaires from the twelve specialists. As re
ported earlier, the survey to chapter presidents was less success
ful, based on the number of returns. Of the nineteen who agreed
to complete the survey, fifteen officers actually returned the com
pleted m aterial. In making one final effort to urge completion of
the survey, each of the four with surveys outstanding was con
tacted by telephone. This resulted in the reception of two com
pleted forms. Therefore, of the nineteen chapter officers who
agreed to complete the instrument, seventeen, or 89 per cent,
gave their full cooperation.
Two promises were made to all persons requested to
participate in either portion of the study. Each respondent was
assured anonymity primarily to encourage him to reveal those tech
niques which had failed. The second promise was that a copy of
the summary of the study would be sent to those who responded to
the survey or the questionnaire. It is doubtful if either assurance
increased the percentage of returns. There was, however, the
remote possibility that unsuccessful techniques would go unreported
if the respondent were to be named. Since nothing could be gained
from disclosing that information, the promise was made.
Organization of the Dissertation
Chapter 1 has presented the background for the study by
introducing the problem , establishing the objectives, defining the
term s used in reporting the study, and explaining the procedure.
Chapter 1 1 is a review of the professional literature show
ing the development of American education from the pre-Puritan
days in Europe to the present in term s of the need for public re
lations activity in education. The criteria for an all-inclusive,
effective public relations program are also reported.
Chapter 1 1 1 reviews the commercial literature for new
approaches which have been successful in the business world,
examines the techniques of persuasion, and reports the media and
methods of effective communication.
Chapter IV presents the findings of the twelve jury-m em ber
specialists as they rated the adaptation of commercial techniques
to educational purposes.
Chapter V reports the findings of the survey submitted
23
to die twenty-five chapter presidents of NSPRA in which they sub
mitted the most successful and least successful techniques of com
munication with the publics.
Chapter VI sum m arizes the study and its findings, draws
conclusions from the findings of both instrum ents, presents recom
mendations, and suggests areas where further study may be profit
able.
CHAPTER II
EDUCATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS:
FINDINGS FROM THE LITERATURE
Introduction
Educational public relations today was the subject for two
of the three purposes of this study. As outlined in Chapter I,
identifying successful practices in the field was the first purpose
for which this study was attempted. Still in the area of education,
the second purpose was to seek practices which were not successful
and report them to prevent practicing adm inistrators from falling
into the same trap.
This was a study of techniques. It sought answers to two
questions: (1) What to do? and (2) What not to do?
Historical evolution of American
public education
Education in America today differs markedly in degree
from the early beginnings, but it is sim ilar in kind. It is important
to know the nature and depth of the roots of this educational system
24
25
before the natural development of organized public relations in
schools can be understood.
The roots of American education had their beginnings on
the continent of Europe following Luther's defiance of established
church protocol. His act of nailing the Ninety-Five Theses on the
Wittenburg Church door virtually demanded that people be taught to
read that they might read the Word of God for themselves (31:7).
Following this upheaval in ecclesiastical circles, the six
teenth-century found Puritans and Pilgrims leaving England for the
continent of Europe. Protestants in Germany and Holland, particu
larly, sought to establish schools where their children could learn
to read the Holy Word. As Meyer states, "It is to Protestantism
that education owes the idea of the vernacular school, a school in
tended for the common child, and one laying the principal stress
on reading and religion. Moral and religious in motive, and under
the Church's ever-roving eye, the first Protestant school was a
very different creature from its secular counterpart." (31:7)
Prim ary schools were appearing in Protestant lands. They
gave instruction in reading, and included some writing. Their
reason for being was religious, the classes were small, and there
was no need for an organized public information program. Learning
was considered a province of the Church, not the state, and one
2 6
which was within the bounds of private enterprise. The Puritans,
therefore, were well-imbued with the concept that education was
completely church-oriented.
The early part of the seventeenth century brought with it
the development of the new world with groups of people emigrating
from Europe. Small bands of people established colonies from
M assachusetts to Virginia and, although the land was new to them,
they had brought with them customs well-steeped in the old-world
traditions.
Settlers in this new world had much in common, but there
were diversities as well. In the "Bible State, " M assachusetts,
it was only natural that the state assume an educational role,
establish policy, and enact laws to carry out the aim s of its people
(31:18).
The Pilgrim s, on the other hand, were scratching out an
existence in a communal fashion, and the creation of a school was
a different m atter. A town school combining state, church, and
community was logical.
The Virginians viewed education as a private enterprise,
and developed schooling of the tutorial and classical nature in an
attempt to preserve a type of nobility in the new world. Unfortu
nately, this level of education could not be enjoyed by children of
27
the lower classes. It was their lot to enter apprenticeships
(33:571).
Public education had its beginnings in Massachusetts as
Boston, Charlestown, and Dorchester maintained their schools, at
least in part, with public funds (31:22). The "Bible State" law
m akers saw no conflict between church and state as they designed
schools prim arily to mold the younger generation into legal and
religious leaders.
Education in the colonies, then, was under the close
scrutiny of religious, legal, community groups, or private citizens.
The controlling bodies knew exactly what the schools were teaching,
and were in complete agreement regarding the curriculum. Those
individuals who were not in agreement soon found life in other
colonies more suitable (33:576).
The first report of the need for improved relations between
a public and the school deals with Harvard University and its first
president, Nathaniel Eaton. Meyer reports that ". . . h e was
also a scoundrel who not only flogged his students, but also
victualed them badly with contaminated beef and moldy bread, and
worse yet, served them stale and tainted beer. " (31:27) On learn
ing of this, the Puritan fathers released him immediately.
Midway through the seventeenth century, Massachusetts
28
adopted two laws which were to influence education in most of New
England. The compulsory education law of 1642, in effect, required
that towns provide some type of schooling. The 1647 law, also
known as the "Old Deluder Satan Act, " required towns to provide
educational services to children and that the teacher be paid by
individuals or the community (31:31).
Population increases and the resultant spreading of that
populace brought about a variety of changes in education. Less
emphasis on the religious curriculum was being forced upon the
schools as prosperity came to the colonies. Trade flourished and
tradesmen desired a somewhat broader education for their children,
although the texts used focused on putting the fear of God in the
students. The town school no longer provided the community-
accepted service it enjoyed in prior years. As the society changed,
the role of the school was modified (33:575).
The town school continued to serve the local families, but
the school master became a roving dispenser of his art. Teaching
a few months in one location, he traveled on until he had covered
the township. From this, of course, it was an easy step to the
establishment of district schools within the township.
Great changes were ahead for education, but the local con
trol aspect of our American system of education was firmly
29
established in the minds of the New Englanders.
The eighteenth century colonists witnessed an expansion of
education along the eastern coast. Although it remained similar in
kind, the degree continued to increase through endowments by
wealthy farm ers in the South, and a further concern by the colonists
that the children of the poor should learn the rudiments of reading
and writing. The more affluent society members employed tutors
who lived with the family o r, when the number of students warran
ted it, small private boarding schools came into being. Although
it varied among the colonies, education continued to be considered
a local matter under close scrutiny. School m asters were among
the few educated members of the colonies, and they were accorded
a respect which apparently permitted them to teach with litde
interference from the parents. It would appear that, although the
need for organized public relations programs was still unnecessary,
some of the early schoolmasters cultivated good human relations.
Meyer reports that tutors living on the farms occasionally were
successful in marrying the planters' daughters (31:54).
The Revolutionary War caused widespread destruction,
and the schools were not exempt. Many school buildings were
destroyed, and survivors of the war apparently gave first concern
to rebuilding cities and farms before they turned to replacing
30
school buildings and resuming education as it had been known in
prior years.
State Constitutions proposed during the late 1700s began
to include references to public education. Although they were
general references, the F irst Amendment to the Federal Consti
tution had separated church and state for the forseeabie future.
Based on this source, State Constitutions began providing for public
schools although urgency in establishing such schools was not
always part of the law m akers'direction. Indiana, for example,
had education framed from the town school through the university,
but delayed such action "until circum stances will perm it. " (31:98)
Circumstances did not perm it, apparently, for many years.
Until the 1820s little was accomplished toward die goal of free
public education. It was perhaps here that the first public relations
effort began to take shape. City-dwellers in the northeast began
agitating for public, tax-supported education. Small groups
advocating public schools began organizing and directing their
efforts to better advantage. Calling on the various publics, school
enthusiasts varied their approaches. "With the civic-minded, they
appealed to the conscience; with employers they promised better-
trained, m oral, contented help, and with the m asses they painted
enticing pictures of the substantial practical rew ards to be had
31
from schooling." (31:153)
Early groups in support of the common schools attracted
widely-known men to their causes. Daniel Webster, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, and Oliver Wendall Holmes gave their support to the
common school. With these names, the groups were able to attract
many of the lesser-known tx > support their cause.
Horace Mann was among the first to recognize the weight
of public opinion in dealing with school issues. As the first
t
secretary to M assachusetts' newly-formed State Board of Education,
he traversed the state to meet with all who would listen to his re
ports of the deplorable conditions which existed in the Common
wealth's schools. Aroused citizens read his writings and responded
to his call to demand more of their legislators. By the mid-century,
Mann had broken his health, but he had helped to create a system of
education in M assachusetts which was second to none in the East
(31:163).
Mann was not alone in taking the plight of the schools to
the people for action. Henry Barnard, who became the first United
States Commissioner of Education, Calvin Stowe, Caleb Mills, and
Robert Breckenridge were leaders who went to the populace for
support of public education and won places in educational history
(31:166).
32
The Civil War had little influence on the educational pro
gress made in the North. The South did not enjoy the same com
forts. The virtual annihilation of the southern states affected the
schools as well. Empty purses could not rebuild demolished
schools. In the carpetbagger tradition, any attempt to resurrect
education in the South usually had northern overtones and, more
specifically, the imposition of northern standards of education.
Over zealous groups in the North organized to help
southern education generally found their assistance unwanted. The
South, faced not only with economic disaster, was expected to
provide education for all its children including the offspring of the
slaves freed in 1863. The educational challenge facing southern
leaders must have appeared to be that of overcoming a giant step
to the rear. The Civil War had obliterated many advances in
education made prior to hostilities. North Carolina, for example,
had supported elementary schooling from the local and county
purses since 1839, and had county and state superintendents for
eight years before the firing on Fort Sumter (31:210).
Monetary aid in the form of philanthropies, notably from
George Peabody and John F. Slater, provided some assistance to
southern education with funds going to city and rural common
schools and negro industrial education (14:651). But the bulk of the
33
responsibility for education in the South lay on its people. By their
choice, separate schools for negro and white were provided for in
state constitutions. In later years, the "separate but equal" pro
visions would be declared unconstitutional and in violation of the
Fourteenth Amendment, but they were acceptable in the South as
they fought back from the ravages of war (33:618).
An evolving public relations
Horace Mann was among the first to interest the public in
the plight of education, as reported previously. His oral and
written communications were significant in focusing the attention
of the common people on their common schools. Others followed
his lead, as has been shown, to the betterment of schools.
The "penny press" of the 1840s had reported the activities
of these educational reform ers and helped to alert people to con
ditions in their schools (31:155).
One of the earliest reports of the need for effective com
munications between the schools and the newspaper is found in the
National Education Association Proceedings for 1899. Dr. E llaJ.
Fifield, school board member speaking on 'The School Board and
the Public Press, " reported that there was great concern among
board members about being misquoted, misunderstood, or mis-
reported in the press. She stated,
34
Perhaps this might be avoided if the reporter were taken
more into the confidence of the board and furnished facts
to replace his fancies. The school board and the people
should be in closer touch. The public has a right to know
what's being done by its elected officers, and can only
obtain its knowledge through the medium of the newspapers.
(15:1133)
Although M assachusetts, in 1826, was the first to give
control of the schools to a separate school committee, there was
still the feeling among the people of the community that each p e r
son had a voice in directing the schools (31:7). This feeling p e r
sisted until the latter stages of the nineteenth century when people,
particularly in the larger cities, began to seek school information
in the public press as attested to by Dr. Fifield, whose rem arks
to her colleagues were reported e a rlie r.
With the opening of the twentieth century interest in edu
cation did not diminish. Large city school system s tended to
appear remote to parents who had been accustomed to a close
relationship between the school and the home. In his Management
of a City School, D r. Arthur C. P erry, Jr., in 1919 stated, 'T he
Department of Education in any city should give parents of pupils
and all citizens widespread information concerning the schools. "
(34:51)
Urban development has been the prim e mover in creating
the need to forge a link of communication between the public and
35
the schools. As the literature has shown, schools were an integral
part of community life, and the entire community gave voice to
their direction. As this became unrealistic, the need for communi
cation through the press increased. The advent of the twentieth
century brought with it continued urbanization and the necessity for
school people to bridge the widening gap between the home and the
urban school.
Twentieth-century authors have not only encouraged the
improvement of communications between the home and the school,
but they have cited the need for an organized program of interpre
tation. As Grinnell stated in 1937, "Everywhere in progressive
education today the idea is taking root that information to the public
should be carefully organized and interpreted." (17:25)
Two basic reasons lie behind the development of educa
tional public relations programs as they are known today. In the
1930s depression conditions affected the amount available for taxes
to support the schools, and there was public clamor to reduce
school support. At the same time, the school was beginning to
provide additional services which demanded a greater share of the
tax dollar. When school boards turned for support to those knowl
edgeable in school m atters, they found few people who could come
to the defense of education (28:18). The change in education had
36
been evolutionary, yet the public had not been taken into confidence
by school personnel and the schools almost lost the backing of their
patrons.
Schools and curriculum continue to change. Professional
school personnel have kept pace with the continuing developments
in their profession through schools of education which have modi
fied their training programs. There is, however, no such organ
ized training program for the publics with which they may keep
abreast of the changing curriculum. Without continuing oppor
tunities for in-service education of teachers, curriculum develop
ment would be virtually impossible. Yet feeble attempts to keep
the patrons of the schools informed of new developments will reap
feeble harvests and result in an inhibiting effect on individual
school districts and education in general.
In 1948, Hand reported, "Being kept in the dark is not a
pleasant experience, for patrons who feel well-informed about the
schools generally say that they are satisfied patrons, and vice
v ersa." (19:43)
Increasing interest in telling the public about its schools
waxes and wanes with the times and pressures on school personnel.
Campbell wrote, "Since World War II, the public schools have been
catapulted into a position of national prominence heretofore
37
unrealized." (11:7) Later, he stated, "We have reached a point in
the development of education where public participation is here to
stay." (11:27)
Huggeit, however, wrote as late as 1950 that the need for
an organized public relations program was diminishing. He con
tended that the principal reason for the shift away from a careful
public information program was the growth of the community
school idea. He reasoned, "With the public virtually a partner in
all affairs of the school, publicity, public relations, and interpre
tation would seem to lose some of their im portance." (24:125)
Although this may have been a logical deduction on his part,
experience over the past fifteen years in professional circles shows
that, in many cases, the school has remained unchanged, but the
community surrounding it has undergone significant changes.
Postwar school districts have experienced growth patterns
which have resulted in continual building bond and tax elections,
the initiation of rapid building projects, and spiraling salary in
creases which have made heavy demands on communities to support
the education of their children. Huggett cautioned school people,
"Because significant changes in public educational institutions can
not take place without public support, the shortcomings and needs
of the school, as well as the successes, must be presented."
38
(24:127)
Bortner has asserted that the public will form its opinion
of the schools with or without a formal policy of interpreting the
schools to the community by the Board of Education (5:1).
Boards of Education are beginning to recognize that schools
do have a responsibility to provide the community with accurate
information about their schools. Bortner reminded us that even
with this awareness of the need for accurate information to emanate
from the school, it is no guarantee that misinformation will not
also abound. "Schools cannot avoid public relations. A community
will inform itself and register opinions about its schools regardless
of the degree of positive effort to keep the public informed." (5:1)
Most authors of school administration and public relations
texts state that the primary responsibility for the public relations
of a school district rests with the superintendent. Huggett has
stated, however, that this in no manner relieves the other em
ployees of the district of their responsibility to serve as public r e
lations representatives (24:151). This statement implies that every
one in the district serves to further the district image. As such
Reeder contends that this approaches policy, and he states, "Since
the priii T y duty of the Board of Education is to determine all school
39
policies, it is its duty to establish the public relations policy. "
(35:19)
The Boards of Education of several districts have recog
nized the need for policies dealing with public relations. For
example, the governing board for the Port Jefferson, New York,
Union Free School District begins its statement of policy by stating:
The Board of Education accepts full responsibility for
keeping the public informed about the function and opera
tion of the school system. The Board will, through all
related news media, express its collective thinking about
what can and should be done to improve further the facili
ties and educational program of the Port Jefferson School
System. (12:12)
The policy continues by giving the specific media through
which the community will be kept informed and the methods by which
its employees will be encouraged to successfully interpret the
school program to individuals outside of the school. Similar
policies are found in Texas and Illinois, establishing the fact that
these governing boards recognize the need to keep the public in
formed (12:13). As Reeder has stated, "The schools were estab
lished by the people. They are financed by the people, and they
belong to the people. The people are, therefore, entitled to
regular and truthful information about them. " (35:4)
40
The role of the teacher
The most important single influence in the interpretation
of the educational program to the community is the teacher. The
classroom teacher works daily with the major link between the home
and the school, and that link is the child. The student commutes
between the home and the school, and that child ca rries with him
im pressions of the school which may be reported verbally or by
reflection of his feelings. Equally significant, Hand points out, is
the rapport between the parents and the teachers. 'T he attitudes
of parents toward the school are of great importance to the teachers.
It is a truism that the school's effectiveness is enhanced in pro
portion to the degree that teachers and parents harmoniously work
together." (19:20)
In spite of this apparently logical conclusion regarding the
teacher and his prim e place in the public relations program,
McCloskey states that many teachers are reluctant to accept much
responsibility for public communications (30:290).
The responsibility of being the m ost-im portant link repre
senting the school may be an awesome one for the classroom
teacher. In his study, Doyle concluded that teachers tended to
define their roles in the community more narrowly than did
adm inistrators, board m em bers, or parents (42). To overcome
41
this hesitancy, the teacher must be provided with every tool at
the command of the governing board and the district personnel to
insure that the community's appraisal of the school is an accurate
one. It is imperative that the teacher utilize every successful
public relations technique tx > convey a true picture of the educa
tional program .
Gillen recommends that teachers be trained, as p art of
the total public relations effort of the district, to help solve
community problems by having courses in community leadership.
Techniques and practices of conducting community surveys would
enable the teacher to seek out areas of difficulty within the com
munity and work with other community leaders to reach solutions
for the problems uncovered. By working with lay and professional
groups within the community, the teacher could provide the pro
fessional assistance she is capable of rendering. Gillen maintains
that teachers must take greater leadership within their com
munities which will not only raise the level of the community but
that of the profession in the eyes of the community members as
well (62).
Although they may not verbalize it, teachers have long
recognized that the best public relations are achieved by sending
home students who are learning and are happy. However, Brownell
42
adds that, "It is not enough to have a good program and effective
techniques of instruction. There still rem ains the problem of
telling about it and the more imperative duty of helping people to
understand the educational pattern and its importance. " (8:40)
Then he adds, 'T here is no place for high-powered press agents in
education. " (8:44) Stearns emphasized this point when he added,
Fundamentally, the people do not want to be sold a bill
of goods. They want to luiow the facts, to know and under
stand the best arguments to be developed from the facts,
and then to form their own conclusions. This is as it
should be. (37:312)
Grinnell suggests some criteria for a successful public
relations program for the teacher and the district by stating that
a good community-information program should be continuous,
honest, inclusive, understandable, dignified but aggressive, reach
everyone in the community, and use every media (17:26). Appear
ing to underscore this positive approach, Horn stated, "Excessive
timidity, senseless modesty, and downright laziness have too long
characterized educators in their public relations. " (21:ix)
The A ASA, recognizing the need for leadership in the
field of community information program s, selected as the theme
for its 1950 Yearbook, Public Relations For Am erica's Schools.
Containing a bibliography of 140 references, this publication is the
most inclusive handbook for practicing adm inistrators available (1).
43
In reporting standards for an effective community relations
program, the Commission wrote:
Sound public school relations must be honest in intent
and execution, intrinsic in the school program, continuous
in application, positive in approach, comprehensive in
character, sensitive to the publics concerned, and simple
in meaning and conception. (1:17)
In spite of these professionally-created standards, the
teaching profession has relied basically on one major vehicle for
its contact with the community. The report card, and variations of
a reporting activity, have borne this responsibility for keeping the
parent informed on the progress of his child. Fine points out,
however, that these reports are inadequate. He states, "School
reports, no matter how adequate or well-prepared, cannot be a
substitute for a well-balanced publicity program. " (16:9) This
would indicate that much more than an efficient reporting of pro
gress program is needed to keep the community informed on the
activities of its schools.
Parent conferences have supplemented the report card in
many school districts. Face to face contact with parents has
improved communications between the home and the school. How
ever, with the continuing rise of the educational level of most
communities, coupled with parental interest in discussing the pro
gress of their children with the teachers, the status of the teacher
44
is changing.
M argaret Bacon, in her article, "Parents, Too, Are
People, " reminds teachers of this changing status when she states,
In the time of die little red school house, the teacher
was unquestionably the cultural leader of the small com
munity and the proud possessor of an adequate education
far superior to that of the parents of her pupils. The
outstanding fact you are failing to take into account is
that today's parents are rather different. The average
parent may have completed the same number of years of
schooling as his teacher. (48:60)
Jenkins cites one particular problem which could do much
to undermine good relations between the home and the school. "The
public schools, " he writes,
now sport a unique vocabulary peculiar alone in many in
stances to the teaching profession. The tragedy of this
development is twofold. F irst, it helps to create an iron
curtain around the school so that the great partnership in
the education of all our youth, the parents, find it in
creasingly difficult to work with their important co-workers,
the teachers. Second, the teachers themselves are unduly
burdened by this vocabulary. (69:20)
The media of public relations
The ultimate goal of any educational activity is growth of
the student. The goal of public relations activity is adequate re
porting of that change in behavior to the community.
Gloria Dapper, author of Public Relations For Educators,
cites the local newspaper as one effective means of reaching the
45
community (12). Benjamin reminded teachers of the requisite of a
good news story when he wrote, "A good news story does not have
to be a scoop. It must be a circulation builder; hence, die great
emphasis on nam es." (52:74) Newspapers are an effective means
of reaching the community, as Gloria Dapper has stated, but Gaskie
cautioned administrators when he wrote, "The moral is clear; the
educator seeking good relations with the paper, and through it
better relations with the public, had best address himself to infor
mation rather than propaganda. " (61:59)
Moehlman contends, however, that the newspapers are
losing their influence with the public. Writing in 1957, he stated,
The decline in influence does not mean that the schools
can or should ignore the newspaper. It is essential to
maintain relationships with the press that are professionally
sound and socially acceptable. (32:455)
Bulletins to the parents are an excellent means of keeping
the public informed of school affairs. Regularly-scheduled news
letters are generally well-read by the parents and other leaders in
the community. The use of the Annual Report to the Board of
Education should not be overlooked, for its value cannot be over
estimated (93).
Another valuable medium of communication is the radio.
Gunnar Horn stated,
46
Educational radio program s are a natural and logical
by-product of the schools. Indeed, educational radio pro
gram s might convince some of the people who have no
children in that school that they are nevertheless getting
some direct return for their school taxes. (21:161)
Many districts have made arrangements with local radio
stations to write scripts and broadcast regularly during each week
of the school year. Dorothy E. Williams, writing in the Nations1
Schools, describes radio shows broadcast by the Clearfield Area
Joint School D istrict in Pennsylvania. Plays, musical program s,
and panel discussions are among the shows scheduled on two fifteen-
minute program s each week. She reports that the parents are
extrem ely enthusiastic about the program s, and that more than
2,500 children have been heard on the air (95:88).
Ungaro refers to two-way communications as the most
successful manner of cementing relations with the home and the
school. Whenever possible, progress or lack of progress during
a reporting period should be given in a manner which allows the
parent to respond immediately. If the close of a reporting period
finds the child with m arks which a re significantly below his form er
achievement, the teacher creates better relations with the parents
by calling this decline to their attention during a conference.
Although this is m ore time-consuming, the opportunity for a two-
way communication assures better acceptance by parents and
47
greater opportunity for growth by the child (39:27).
McCloskey emphasizes this point when he states, ''Any in
crease in these direct contacts is likely to give more people insight
and attitudes which will make them more disposed to support the
schools." (30:314) Pfau, in his study at the University of Michigan,
found that face-to-face discourse was more effective than written
communication in promoting the aim s of an educational program
(44).
The case for public relations
Van Winkle maintains that the entire educational program
is affected when a school district organizes and plans a strong
public relations program . In his study, he found that a positive
correlation existed between the quality of the educational program
of a district and the extent to which the school-community infor
mation program was organized (46).
A successful public relations effort reaches everyone in
the community, or it should, according to Dapper. She states,
"Anyone who in any way touches the schools--and that includes
nearly everyone in town--should be reached by the schools." (12:103)
Horn helped adm inistrators to put the community relations
program in its proper perspective when he stated, "No public
48
relations program can permanently succeed in selling an inferior
product. " (21:187) "Ultimate satisfaction with the value of the
public school will be determined by the satisfaction derived from the
program , " Moehlman wrote. "An efficient friendly institution is
the most desirable development. A happy child and a satisfied
parent form the best possible base for institutional understanding
and support." (32:373)
Ross believes that there is much to be gained from a good
public relations program . He stated,
Our public schools are better than they were a genera
tion ago because of the inspiration of individual teachers
and adm inistrators. Yet they are not doing the full job
they are capable of doing because they have not captured
the spirit and the imagination of the public. (82:70)
Concerning the amount of work involved in bettering com
munications with the public, the Western Illinois State College
Bulletin reports, "It is, of course, asking a great deal of over
worked teachers. But since they already have given so much to
their profession, they cannot fail to protect it. " (93:39)
The "how" of educational
public relations
The literature from specialists in education is unanimous.
Relations between the school and the community have always been
and always will be apparent. The quality and degree may vary,
49
but the relationship is inherent.
Convincing Boards of Education and district superintendents
of the need for good communication with the public is possible. How
to create or further the public relations program , the techniques
to use, and when to use them, are logical questions. The literature
suggests some answ ers. Among the more successful techniques
reported are these:
1. Children are students today and parents in the com
munity tomorrow. When the children are respected
by the schoolteachers and adm inistrators, they re
turn that feeling in respect for the school. Everyone
wants to be someone in another's eyes (1:66).
2. Conferences with individuals and groups of parents
create a friendly atm osphere which builds good will
(1:67).
3. Most schools plan special activities for American
Education o r Public Schools Weeks. Child-written
invitations to a sm all group of parents each week
over the period of a year to see specific lessons
will enable five or six fam ilies to learn how reading,
arithm etic, and other subjects a re taught (1:71).
4. Form er students who have achieved recognized
positions in the adult world should be called to the
attention of the community in district newsletters or
press releases. School activities which could have
led to his achievement should be mentioned (1:72).
Community service by students, schools, or teachers
should not be overlooked. Campaign contributions in
term s of hours donated by teachers giving lessons to
the foreign-born at night school, and leisure time
activities conducted at the school build good will in the
community (1:75).
Staff relations may improve through employing ten or
fifteen teachers to work during one week of the summer
on curriculum development or other creative activity.
Creative work during the late afternoon is difficult
for harried teachers wishing they were home preparing
dinner. Much can be accomplished under the direction
of a principal or a staff adm inistrator (1:95).
Local vendors should be informed of payment proce
dures when doing business with the Board of Education.
All bills should be paid promptly or personal notifi
cation made to the local businessmen to prevent m is
understandings (1:117).
51
8. Many districts are too large to invite the classified
or certificated staffs to casual social functions. Indi
vidual school faculties could honor the classified
members who work in and around the school by inviting
them for coffee in the lounge before Christmas or the
end of the year to show appreciation for their efforts.
Much good will is built on a foundation of a small
piece of pie (1:120).
9. Casual mention to the local newspaper reporter about
unusual hobbies maintained by staff members can
often lead to feature stories for the community paper.
"Humanized teachers" usually gain better cooperation
from their students (1:163).
10. Administrators should keep their teachers informed
about developments in curriculum and possible
problems at the high school and elementary levels.
The public often does not realize that the two may be
separate organizations and expects teachers to know
answers to general educational questions (1:160).
11. Every week of the year has some special commemora
tion or activity to be recognized by one group or
another. Public relations-conscious staff members
will tie in school activities when appropriate for
store window displays, letters to city government
officials, and other specific activities (1:168).
12. A weekly telephone call to the parents of the child
adjudged by his classmates as having made the best
contribution of the week improves the rapport between
parents and the teacher. With careful planning, per
ceptive teachers can arrange to call all parents at
least once during the year with praise for their chil
dren (39:21).
13. At one time or another, all parents have participated
in the "What did you do in school today? Nothing. "
conversation. Teachers can overcome this problem
by reminding the students of particularly good con
tributions they made that day just before the last bell
rings (39:21).
14. "Good Manners Week" may provide an excellent
springboard into language arts lessons involving
"Thank You" letters being written by children to the
Board of Education for purchasing needed equipment,
to the Principal for serving as an official at a class
room election, or the custodian for keeping the room
well-cleaned. City officials are usually pleasantly
surprised to receive letters of gratitude for an action,
particularly when they are written by the children
(39:22).
15. Principals make lasting impressions on students when
they memorize the names and faces of the students.
The extra effort required to visit every room, spend
ten minutes learning the names, and reviewing them
occasionally boosts morale, im presses the children
and the teachers, and amazes the parents. If the
school is too large to tackle completely, start with
kindergarten or other beginning class and learn as
many as possible (39:22).
16. Invite parents to a meeting of the Student Council, the
Safety Patrol, or other democratically-organized
group within the school. This is an excellent method
for showing parents how the students put into effect
their knowledge of parliamentary procedure (39:24).
These techniques, and others cited on preceding pages,
are typical suggestions by current authors. Each has been effective
in reducing the distance which can develop between the community
and the school.
54
In his doctoral survey at the University of Pittsburgh in
1945, Hickey found eight objectives of public relations acceptable
^ to 90 per cent of his respondents. The objectives are:
1. To inform the public as to the work of the school.
2. To establish confidence in the schools.
3. To rally support for proper maintenance of the
educational program.
4. To develop awareness of the importance of edu
cation in a democracy today.
5. To improve the partnership concept by uniting
parents and teachers in meeting the educational needs of
the children.
6. To integrate the home, the school, and the com
munity in improving the educational opportunities for all
children.
7. To evaluate the offerings of the schools in meeting
the needs of the children of the community.
8. To correct misunderstandings as to the aims and
activities of the school. (26:11)
Jones and Stout identified four major concepts regarding
how school personnel felt about their relationship with the com
munity. The concepts are:
1. Indifference, in which the schools belong to the pro
fessionals;
2. School publicity, which tells only what the schools
want known;
3. Educational interpretation, or one-way communi
cation; and
4. Cooperative endeavor, in which the home, school,
and community cooperate in educating the "whole child."
(26:7)
Although it perhaps is not the answer sought by school
personnel, the Twenty-eighth Yearbook of the AASA offers this
solution:
55
There are no pat formulas for good public relations.
There are no m aster public relations programs that can
be installed bodily in a school system. However, there
, , are widely recognized and validated principles of good
public relations. These should be studied and understood,
then flexibly applied to suit the varying needs of the indi
vidual staff, school system, and community. (1:171)
Summary of the Chapter
American education, as it was to develop in the New World,
had its beginnings in the religious environment of the Old World.
Martin Luther stirred the Protestants with his Ninety-Five Theses,
and from his declarations about reading the Word of God, the
common school was born in the minds of his followers.
Puritans and Pilgrims left England to settle in Europe,
and organized schools to teach their children to read the Bible.
Learning was considered a province of the church and they carried
this concept with them to the New World.
The colonies differed in their approach to education after
they settled in America. The Puritans of Massachusetts established
a system of education under the direction of lawmakers who were
to enact laws, establish policy, and in general organize a religious-
oriented school program and colonial government.
The Pilgrims of New England established a communal type
of organization within which revolved their town, church, and
56
school.'
Colonists in the South preferred the tutorial plan and
maintained education prim arily for the more affluent society.
In each case, education was limited and under the direct
scrutiny of the local people. There was little opportunity for the
schoolmaster to do anything which would go unnoticed among the
colonists.
The first laws of significance regarding American edu
cation were passed in Massachusetts in 1642 and 1647. They re
quired towns to provide for schools and pay teachers from funds
derived from individuals or the community. The curriculum con
tinued to be religious-oriented, although some liberal arts were
beginning to creep into the schools.
As the colonists prospered, education became more
accepted for all children. Private schools were organized for those
who had attained a level of wealth which could allow them to send
their offspring to Europe for their education, but who were reluc
tant to chance the long ocean voyage.
State Constitutions following the Revolutionary War in
cluded general references to education. City-dwellers in the early
1800s were among the first in New England to begin agitating for
better schools. Horace Mann and other leaders began seeking
57
school reform s, and went to the people with their pleas. The
weight of public opinion was felt by lawm akers, and schools were
improved--particularly in M assachusetts.
The Civil War had little effect on the schools in the North,
but the southern schools suffered tremendous lo sses. Northern
groups organized to help southern communities to rebuild their
school system s, but were generally repulsed in their efforts to
duplicate northern schooling in the southern states.
Philanthropists aided the southern cause prim arily with
help for the common schools and negro industrial education. Sepa
rate but equal schools were initiated by the southern communities
for the education of white and negro children.
Horace Mann had received support from the "penny press"
as he sought to reform M assachusetts schools. About 1900, school
boards began to recognize the power of the press in communicating
the needs of the schools. By 1919, school adm inistrators were
beginning to understand the need to bridge the gap between the
parents and the urban school.
From the early 1920s to the present day, many texts have
been written about public relations and the schools. Curriculum
development is virtually impossible without a continuing public
aw areness. Although some authors believe that the rise of the
58
community school precluded the need for public information pro
grams* the consensus appears to be that the public will inform
itself about the schools in one way or another. It behooves Boards
of Education to develop policies which will assure them that the
community is conversant with the purposes, goals, and problems
of the public schools.
Public relations program standards proposed in the Twenty
eighth Yearbook of the AASA have attained professional acceptance,
although they may not have reached the level of professional
practice in a majority of districts.
The teacher plays a most significant role in the school's
public relations program. Some research indicates that teachers
are reluctant to accept their vital role in the community-relations
program, but specialists in public relations believe that the teacher
must accept this responsibility under the direction of the governing
board and the district superintendent.
Various media for telling the school story were presented.
Specific methods for utilizing these media will be presented in
Chapter IV.
All personnel were cautioned that good public relations
are built on a strong educational foundation. An inferior product
cannot be hidden for long under an efficient public relations effort.
59
Several techniques were presented from the current
literature as examples of the many offered to research-m inded
school personnel.
Objectives identified in 1945 and cited in recent literature
as currently appropriate were reported.
Four concepts of teacher-community relationships were
given and a summary statement by the American Association of
School Administrators concluded the chapter.
CHAPTER HI
COMMERCIAL PUBLIC RELATIONS:
FINDINGS FROM THE LITERATURE
Introduction
Commercial public relations is a multimillion dollar in
dustry of communication. Education is a multimillion dollar
enterprise of communication. Each of these professions relies
on the public acceptance for its very existence.
As reported in Chapter II, education turned to the public
for support during depression years when tax revenues were limited
and school budgets were threatened. It was only when the educators
found little support for their cause that they began to take the com
munity into their confidence.
The mass media of communication has played a significant
role in the transformation of our society over the past thirty years.
The parent of 1966 is bombarded with sophisticated techniques in
communication. Education can no longer rely on the occasional
column in the newspaper to adequately transmit school information.
60
61
The competition for the reader's attention has forced school
administrators to seek more refined methods to tell the school
story.
In analyzing the need for better communication techniques
between the home and the school, it appeared that perhaps education
should turn to specialists for professional help. Public relations is
the business of "engineering consent" and it has been very success
ful in communicating proper images. It is possible that education
could profit from this type of help.
The third objective of this study, then, was to review the
commercial literature seeking more refined techniques with which
to tell the school story.
The beginnings of public relations
The first use of the term "public relations" recorded in
America is found in Thomas Jefferson's Seventh Address to the
Congress in 1807 (18:5). Almost one hundred years later, public
relations came into being as a profession. Ivy L . Lee is generally
considered to be the first public relations counsel in America, and
he opened an office in Pennsylvania in 1903. Thirteen years later
he became the first in New York City to offer service as a public
relations consultant.
*
Although Lee is credited with ideas basic to the profession,
62
he is most respected for two major contributions. The first was
that of humanizing business, taking it to the level of the employees
and the consumers. The second was that he dealt only with top
executives and carried out only those programs that had the active
support of the top management (18:7).
During the prosperous days following World War I, few
businesses could be bothered with building a positive image. Wages
were good, buying was at an all-time high, and public relations was
considered unimportant by most private enterprise. With the
economic crash of 1929, their short-sightedness became glaringly
evident (18:9).
There was little activity in the public relations field p re
ceding World War II. During the war, business had little to sell,
but the efforts of public relations practitioners in mobilizing public
attitude for the war effort convinced many firms to begin selling
themselves and their image (18:10). As Griswold states:
Having few goods to sell and wanting no more customers,
business spent billions advertising its trade marks and telling
its corporate stories to keep good-will alive. To their amaze
ment business leaders discovered that this kind of public
relations procedure created buying desires and attracted
customers. Out of that experience they learned that the
public is almost as much interested in the integrity of the
company and the craftsmanship that goes into its wares, as
in the quality and price of the products. (18:11)
Following World War II, there was a brief reduction in
63
commercial public relations activity. This trend was soon re
versed, however, when business discovered that "it must operate
in the public interest if it is to survive." (18:11)
The dramatic influence on professional public relations by
World War II activity resulted in a maturing of the field. Griswold
states that since World War II, virtually every business convention
devotes as much time to public relations questions as to the entire
remainder of the conference subjects (18:13).
From this maturing, basic principles of public relations
planning have evolved. In order, they are surveying to discover
the problems, adopting sincere policies of management as a founda
tion, drafting and executing the best program to earn public support,
and telling the public relations story in frank and honest terms
(18:12).
What is public relations?
General Mills' executive, Harry A. Bull is, defines public
relations as our "dealings with people." (18:21) Bernays states,
'Public relations is the attempt, by information, persuasion, and
adjustment, to engineer public support for an activity, cause,
movement, or institution." (3:3) Bullis' definition would include
any business activity which could improve the image of a company
or other organized group. He cites various community services
64
needing trucks for worthwhile causes, the establishment of new jobs
in the community, and taking part in civic groups as examples
(18:21). Bernays, on the other hand, tends to define public relations
more on the "selling" approach (3:4).
Monsanto's board chairman, Edgar M. Queeny, reports,
"Public relations seeks to identify a corporation with what in an
individual would be good manners and good m orals. " (18:22) Public
relations, then, is doing good and telling others about it (18:22).
Citing an over-sim plified definition, Jones wrote, "Good
public relations is applied common sense. " He followed with,
"There is much to that, but it should be borne in mind that it re
quires experience and judgment, if not technique, to judge what
common sense is. Yesterday's 'common sense' may be today's
'bad judgm ent.'" (27:11)
American Telephone and Telegraph's vice president, Page,
has stated, "Public relations are designed to give a business a good
reputation with the public, establish it in the public mind as an
institution of character and an institution which functions in the
public in te re st." (27:12)
The role of public relations
Business and industry must realize that "public relations
is something you've got whether you want it or not, and whether you
65
consciously do anything about it or n o t," stated Bullis (18:23).
Professor Gras, of the Harvard Business School, suggested political
upheaval if public relations is not practiced when he said,
Business now is adopting a new policy--that the public should
be fully served and fully informed. A complete national
capitalism or socialism stand as the alternatives of public
policy and the essence of public relations. (18:23)
John Price Jones, who heads his own fund-raising firm ,
stated that it is the accepted practice of public relations to present
the truth as an individual or group sees it, in an effort to gain
general acceptance of that truth (3:156).
Barton spoke to business and industry as a unit when he
stated,
If any manufacturer says, "I do not care what the common
m ass of people think about my business, whether it be
popular or unpopular with them, "--that man is a liability
to all industry. No major industry has any moral right to
allow itself to be unexplained, misunderstood, or publicly
distrusted; for by its unpopularity it poisons the pond in
which we all must fish. (27:45)
Engineering support through persuasion
A basic principle of a democratic society is that each
group or individual has the right to try to influence others. Through
persuasion, the minority may become the majority. "Freedom to
persuade is an accepted principle of our democracy; the effective
use of persuasion is becoming increasingly essential to success. "
66
(6:4)
Brembeck and Howell contend that "the manufacture and
manipulation of public opinion through persuasion is recognized as
a legitimate and intricate science." (6:5)
The mass society in which Americans live today does not
offer many opportunities for people to gain knowledge from prim ary
sources. Most knowledge concerning governmental and business
activities, for example, is reported in the mass media. Thus,
the public "cannot know things as they actually are, but only as we
are told they are. " (6:7) In a society such as this, thoughts and
actions are generally products of our systems of persuasion.
"Persuasion" is a key word in Bernays' definition of public
relations. He defined public relations as "the attempt, by informa
tion, persuasion, and adjustment, to engineer public support for an
activity, cause, movement, or institution." (3:3) Brembeck and
Howell define persuasion as "controlling behavior by manipulating
human motives." (6:127)
In crediting persuasion with a major role in the manipula
tion of public opinion, Bernays stated:
On the whole, persuasion fills a great social need. It
would be ideal if all of us could make up our minds independ
ently by evaluating all pertinent facts objectively. This,
however, is not possible. None of us has access to all facts
about everything. (3:8)
67
It is apparent, then, that knowledge of the techniques of
persuasion must be an integral part of the background of the public
relations practitioner.
Brembeck and Howell list four points in the basic process
of persuasion. They are:
1. Gain and maintain attention;
2. Arouse desires useful to the persuader's purpose;
3. Demonstrate how these desires can be satisfied by
acceptance of the persuader's proposition;
4. Produce the specific response desired. (6:26)
lb gain and maintain the attention of the audience, the
communication must be effective. In their study, Hovland, Janis,
and Kelley reported, "The effectiveness of a communication is
commonly assumed to depend to a considerable extent upon who
delivers it. " (23:19) They found that the prestige of the speaker
or w riter had a positive bearing on the opinion of the audience.
However, the communicator must remain "in character" to main
tain this acceptance of his conclusions. If he violates his audience's
high expectations, his conclusions may be much less acceptable
(23:45). Affection, admiration, awe, and fear influence the accept
ance of conclusions by the speaker. Hovland et a l. found that
persons having these emotional ties with the communicator are
more ready to accept his conclusions, although these conclusions
may be objectionable (23:48).
68
Speakers seeking to gain and maintain attention are re
minded of the physical requirements in achieving comfort.
Man is basically a biological organism and, as such,is
like the lower animals. No matter what the degree of
personal sophistication, man somehow will serve his basic
biological needs. (6:65)
Persuaders who are either unable or unwilling to recognize and
heed the existing physical drives of the audience have an excellent
chance of failing in their attempts to persuade. The internal
stimuli of hunger, thirst, sex, temperature regulation, sleep, and
eliminative tensions will be served, and anyone who attempts to
persuade must recognize these drives. The external stimuli of
body injury and the emotional tensions of rage, fear, and love must
be recognized by the persuader (6:65).
Brembeck and Howell reported that once attention is gained,
the stimuli must continue to change to maintain that attention
(6:267). Studies by Hovland et al. indicate that the use of fear
appeal may be beneficial to the persuader provided that a relatively
low degree of fear arousal is employed (23:83). Hovland's study
indicated that a high degree of fear arousal decreased the communi
cation's over-all effectiveness (23:82).
Nonvoluntary attention is the optimum, according to Brem
beck and Howell. Although the listener may be required to give
voluntary attention at the beginning of the communication, an
69
effective persuader shifts attention to the nonvoluntary plane by the
arousal of the listener's interests and motives (6:267).
Highly-emotional appeals tend to reduce the effectiveness
of communications, according to Hovland et a l. A defensive re
action occurs which overrides the persuader's reassurances about
the ways and means of counteracting the threat proposed (23:78).
The persuader also runs the risk of arousing aggressions toward
the communicator if the emotional appeal is too great (23:79). This
study also found that persons who are prone to a high degree of
emotional tension in response to a strong fear appeal tend to be
those least influenced by the recommendations given by the per
suader (23:94).
Fear is only one of several purposes of persuasive com
munication (6:299). In arousing desires useful to the persuader's
objective, several general and special techniques are given by
Brembeck and Howell. The purpose may be to stimulate, convince,
or actuate. Special purposes include frustration and fear, con
fusion, intimidation, and irritation (6:296).
Presentations to stimulate tend to rely on nonlogical appeals
to emotions, motives, and desires (6:297).
Persuaders who seek to convince deal primarily in beliefs
rather than with emotional commitments (6:298).
70
Communications to actuate may deal in emotions and arouse
beliefs or convictions, but "explicit action must result. " (6:299)
Presentations to arouse fear and anxiety are often utilized
by practitioners seeking selfish and often antisocial goals. Such
communication is generally designed to create frustration enabling
autocratic leadership to emerge (6:299).
Persuaders who seek to confuse can build communications
skillfully by pyramiding facts until the listener or reader can no
longer keep a mental tally of those points opposing his belief. Des
peration results enabling the persuader to lead the audience toward
his goal (6:301).
Intimidation communications seek to create a form of
persuasion in which the strategy is terro r. Once convinced through
intimidation, the audience is responsive to the persuader's call for
action (6:303).
Communications designed to irritate are those which
persistently relate the same theme on many occasions in the hope
that the audience will take the desired step without offering further
resistance (6:304).
To produce the desired response in his audience, the per
suader must be familiar with research on "the call for action."
Hovland et a l. found that the order of strong and weak points within
71
the presentation could vary depending on the knowledge of the sub
ject by the audience. Groups totally unfamiliar with die topic,
interested or not, responded more favorably to presentations which
emphasized strong points first. Hovland refers to this technique
as the "anticlimax o rd e r." The "climax o rd e r," or building from
weaker points to strong points as the climax of the presentation, is
more effective when the audience is familiar with the topic and has
a deep concern for it (23:120).
The value of primacy or recency in achieving effectiveness
in debates or presentations has been studied by Hovland et a l.
Replications of studies have not yielded sim ilar results, causing
the authors to assert that special combinations of events can produce
equal effectiveness for both approaches (23:129).
Motives of die audience can be determining factors, as
reported by Brembeck and Howell. Individuals who have expressed
opinions publicly are reluctant to change. These authors contended
that the act of publicly expressing opinions tends to establish the
attitude more clearly and firmly in the mind of the person voicing
the opinion (6:102). Hovland's study confirmed this thesis with,
"Commitment (publicly or privately) then acts to produce a certain
irreversibility of opinion change." (23:127)
Group membership plays a significant role in establishing
72
opinions and attitudes. Hovland et a l. reported that the available
evidence tends to indicate that the individual's opinions and attitudes
conform to group consensus in direct relationship to the values
placed on the group membership by the member (23:138). In sup
porting this finding, Brembeck and Howell stated that attitudes are
m ore influenced by m ajority rather than expert opinion (6:102).
Persons tem porarily removed from their own groups
tended to maintain opinions of the form er groups until the absence
became prolonged. They then began depending on the opinions of
the immediate group as they relocated their feelings of dignity and
self-esteem (23:148). Individuals seek attention and approval from
their p eers. Brembeck and Howell reported that there is no greater
punishment than for the individual to feel unworthy of any attention
(6:84).
Persuaders desiring to change opinion also seek knowledge
of the amount of retention which can be expected. Hovland et a l.
asserted that opinions and attitudes gained by direct personal
experience tend to outlast those produced by the m ass media
(23:243). Emotional tone, vividness, and degree of meaning to the
individual are prim ary factors affecting the retention of content
m aterial (23:246). The more completely m aterial is learned, the
longer it will be rem em bered (23:247).
73
Studies in repetition affecting retention were reported in
Brembeck and Howell and by Hovland et a l. Brembeck reported
that repetition to the extent of three or more presentations was
most effective. Beyond three repetitions, the value did not increase
proportionately (6:178).
Details are forgotten readily with the passage of time, but
general ideas and the gist of the m aterial given is remembered.
Hovland et al. suggested that persuasive communications should
stress conclusions rather than detailed arguments in support of
them (23:248).
Content of the m aterial has a strong bearing on retention
by the audience. Unpleasant subjects tend to be forgotten more
rapidly. M aterial supporting the individual's opinion o r attitude
tended to be retained better than m aterial opposing it (23:250).
Repetition usually follows one of two form s. "Exact
repetition" uses the same words. "Restatement" uses the same
idea given in different words (6:177). The importance of repeti
tion was reported by Hovland in the statement,
Once a belief is modified by an effective communication,
there will be a tendency for the newly-acquired opinion
responses to interfere with the subsequent acquisition of
any incompatible opinion responses. " (23:263)
Slogans are typical of "exact repetition. " Themes and symbols are
74
types of "restatem ent."
The success or failure of persuasion attempts may be
dependent on motivation of the audience (23:289). Subsistence
motives are forem ost in affecting man's behavior. The motives
include provision for food, drink, and bodily protection. Major
economic motives are part of this defined area (6:83).
Among the stronger sets of motives is that of social
approval. Approval by the group is sought constantly by the indi
vidual. Groups of students tend to do more work than when individu
als work alone. Industries have found sim ilar results in factory
pieceworkers (6:85).
Conformity motives generally stem from avoidance of
punishment learnings. Adults tend toward behavior which will
avoid social disapproval. The feeling of belonging tends to over
come rebellious drives which arise occasionally (6:85). Studies
on conformity within groups indicated that those persons most
highly motivated to maintain group membership tended to be most
susceptible to influence by other m em bers of the group (23:276).
M astery motives had their beginnings, it is believed, in
emotional tensions aroused early in life. Rage behavior in the
infant manifests itself in socially-acceptable motives "to excel,
to rival, to compete, to dominate, to lead, to gain prestige, to
75
seek authority, and so o n ." (6:87)
Sex motives have a dominant appeal. With social b arriers
preventing direct satisfaction, substitute responses have been
created. Persuaders have used the appeals of sex motives in
virtually every endeavor, and such appeals are used in advertising
m ore than any other motive (6:89).
Brembeck and Howell define persuasion as "the conscious
attempt to modify thought and action by manipulating the motives
of men toward predetermined e n d s." (6:24) "The ability to p er
suade has always been a great power; today it is greater than ever
before. " (6:465) In ethical hands, persuasion is a significant tool
for engineering consent toward the common good.
The Media of Communication
The spoken word
D irect contact is the most effective tool of the public
relations practitioner. The vocal presentation in a setting where
the respondent has the opportunity to ask questions and receive
answers immediately is the most effective method of communication
(18:343).
76
Radio and television
Radio and television reach more Americans than any other
single media. Over 6,000 broadcasting stations share an audience
of approximately 95 per cent of the American homes (7:158). Bur
nett reported that, because radio is largely a personality medium,
it offers great opportunity at the community level for public re
lations activity (18:330).
Film s and film strips
Professionally-produced films suitable for inclusion in a
public relations program had a median cost of $9,240 for an
eleven-minute color presentation (18:333). Film strips may be
produced at a fraction of that cost and, according to Brembeck and
Howell, were equally effective in training men in the armed forces
during World War II (6:426).
Newspapers
Newspapers are read by virtually all adults in the United
States, and are considered to be the chief public information
medium by experienced public relations men (18:322). Daily news
papers have the highest total circulation, although Sunday editions
generally offer more space for pictures and special features.
Country weeklies rank third in circulation nationwide, but probably
rank first in being thoroughly read (10:157).
77
Company publications
The company publication, most popular medium of employee
communication, is important in building organizational spirit
(18:338). Employee morale requires the issuance of periodic re
ports of inside news about the company. Fam ilies are usually
interested in the company, and appreciate receiving information
about their own organizations (10:92).
Employee handbooks explaining company policies in an
interesting manner are becoming the rule rather than the exception
(18:339).
Pamphlets and brochures
Inexpensive, yet effective, pamphlets and brochures are
valuable media in the business community (3:192). Used as
auxiliary support for almost every public relations activity, pam
phlets and brochures written in short, crisp sentences can be
good-will ambassadors for any company (18:554).
Annual reports
Burnett refers to the annual report as the most satisfactory
vehicle for keeping stockholders informed about the company. It
is also being used in sales promotions and is an effective form of
78
institutional advertising (10:117). Chase asserted that a company's
report of the past year's operation is the cornerstone in its relations
with stockholders. Publications that are alive, colorful, and tell
the company story simply are welcomed and read by corporate
owners (18:217).
Direct mailings
Direct mail, when adequately planned in a campaign, can
be an effective tool in public relations (3:192). McIntyre, writing
in P rinters' Ink, reported that direct mail pieces have a readership
of 75 per cent, far higher than any other media (75:256). Current
figures indicate that direct mail grosses in excess of 300 million
dollars in sales annually (38:4).
Magazines
More than 7,600 magazines of all types are available at
newsstands throughout America (3:191). This medium tends to
have a longer effective life than the newspaper and leaves a more
lasting impression (18:222). Compared with other printed media,
the magazine requires a specialized type of writing (18:327).
Although much of the writing is done by staff members, an occa
sional free-lance work is published. Magazine editors are
extremely sensitive to attempts to use their publications for
79
commercial purposes, making this a difficult medium for public
relations promotion (18:223).
Displays
Although Hyde's statement was written for bookshop pro
motions, the advice is appropriate for all public relations activity.
Hyde stated, "One does not expect every bookshop window to reach
perfection in the matter of display ideas, but one does expect
tidiness, common sense, and a display of topical, up-to-date books
that are frequently changed. " He stated further that the cost was
little or nothing, but that there was much good-will to be realized
(25:100).
Irwin recommends that employees display hobbies as well
as products in local manufacturing exhibits and fairs to help win
community acceptance and good-will (18:185).
Visual aids
Fine asserted that posters in buses and streetcars are
effective in reaching the public (3:192). Pictures which allow the
viewer to visualize himself in the scene are among the most p er
suasive (6:356). Audio-visuals have proved to be very effective in
the sale of virtually every type of product or idea (18:467).
80
The Methods of Communication
Oral communication
Burnett reported that there is no better means of communi
cation than the spoken word. Full utilization of this method of
communication is essential to the success of any complete public
relations program (18:343). Radio interviews, television appear
ances, conducted tours, service club programs, company picnics,
and stockholders' meetings are given as illustrations by Griswold
(18), Burnett (9), and Jones (27). From these brief examples, the
implication is evident. The spoken word is the best means of com
munication, and should be used extensively in public relations
programs (18:344).
Although it may appear that public relations is primarily
the responsibility of management, particularly in oral communi
cation, other members of the company play an important role.
Telephone contacts are often the only means by which an outsider
may form an opinion of the company. Telephone operators and
receptionists meet the public daily. What they say and how they
say it are vital to the public relations effort of any organization
(18:343). Jones lists "A brusque phone operator" as the first area
in which unfavorable public opinion may breed (27:106).
81
Radio and television
Radio and television utilization can be important supple
ments in any public relations program (18:488). High-powered
clear channel stations are generally inappropriate for publicity
activities of commercial enterprises. Large companies which
contract for time and produce program s of national appeal are well-
accepted by the public, but there is little chance of having products
mentioned by name without advertising arrangem ents and revenues
(18:329).
Community stations generally are interested in local
business and will report items of local interest in news stories
(18:329). Lampe, reporting in the Public Relations journal, des
cribed the radio program of the Buick Division of General Motors.
Weekly shows feature interviews with various people representing
labor and management. Written questions are submitted by the
radio audience and answered in the show during the interview of the
following week (71:10). Griswold reported that family members
who had taken plant tours were interviewed about the company,
their w age-earner's position, and the kind of work that he performed
(18:488).
Young recommended that commercial messages on spon
sored programs in radio and television should be kept at a minimum
82
or eliminated completely. He suggested that the name of the spon-
sor was adequate commercialization when the picture or story was
carrying the impact (18:484).
Visual devices
Commercial organizations are available for the creation
of films and film strips. Costs vary widely, but before these
methods of telling the public relations story are planned, distribu
tion arrangements must be considered. Griswold stated that dis
tribution is a far greater problem than the production of these aids
(18:333).
Two recommended techniques introduced in 1964 were the
self-contained slide and 8mm film loop silent presentations for
setting up unattended displays at conferences, conventions, and
areas of sufficient foot traffic (90:128). Typical of possible pro
grams for this type of presentation was that done by an electric
power company which was getting complaints of rising monthly
statem ents. A complete steak dinner for four persons was cooked
at a power cost of four cents. Reporting this to the public through
self-contained displays as cited above can effectively refute or
combat inaccurate gossip (67:49).
Supporting this less-expensive film approach to public
relations, Barnum suggested making a filmed tour of a plant or
83
industry for program material to be used with community clubs
and organizations (50:16).
Public Relations Board Newsletter editors reported that
virtually every communication with the public is inproved by the
skillful use of visual effects (94:1). Pictures, drawings, and charts
act as attention-getting devices which should start the reader's
stream of consciousness toward the intended meaning of the
message (74:3).
In supporting Brembeck (6), Martineau stated,
The advertiser uses Americans of like situation to the
audience or ideal types that we secretly hope or think our
selves to be. But at least we have to believe that we can
realistically be in such a setting. (29:126)
Ebony magazine, for example, uses Negro models in its advertis
ing displays.
Illustrations can carry more impact than the text support
ing them. In describing the "affectivity" of the illustrations of the
man with the eye patch in a Hathaway shirt, and Commander White
head in the Schweppes campaign, Martineau said:
The art-meanings were mostly unconscious, probably
not even expressible in literal term s. Yet they made the
customer buy. He wanted these unconscious, inexpressible
overtones. This is not to say that all advertising should
follow an off-beat pattern, but to show that persuasion is
possible without claims and logic. (29:115)
Martineau explained that, following the appearance of the
84
eye patch on the Man in the Hathaway Shirt promotion, sales tripled
(29:148).
Logic often has little to do with persuasion to buy an item
or support a cause. Martineau reported:
Human beings very consistently develop feeling mean
ings which are associated with objects and persons and
which even have a tendency to spread contrary to all the
logic of the situation. Most of our likes and dislikes of
stores, railroads, hotels, banks, and what have you stem
from tiny incidents of feeling--possibly involving one
sales clerk, one porter, one elevator operator, one cle rk --
which then become magnified on a broad scale. (29:117)
Feeling, rather than logic, was the theme of a recruiting
advertisem ent and brochure seeking nurses for a hospital in New
York. Hodes' advertising executive, Mackie, stressed 'T he white,
wonderful world of nursing at Mt. Sinai" rather than the m ore
logical tone of "higher salaries, better working conditions, etc. "
Mackie stated,
When we fram ed our first ad, we rem em bered first of all
that the Registered Nurse is above all things a woman and
subject to emotional appeals of her sex. We knew she
pursues the hope of gracious living, adventure, power,
professional and social status, and so we decided to exploit
these dream s. (73:38)
Creative visual presentations provide some colorations
and add the feeling of dimension. The greatest sales ideas or
products with the most obvious technical advantages need effective
hooks of some kind. The naked sales argument is not enough in
today's sophisticated market (29:112).
85
Themes, symbols, and slogans
Themes, symbols, and slogans in public relations are
designed for one purpose: to create a response in the individual
(3:139) A theme is basically a story line or a concept. A symbol
is one representative of the theme (3:138). A slogan is a poetic
interpretation of the them e.
Symbols often become tradem arks in the commercial field.
A symbol or tradem ark on all products of a given company tends
to lead the custom er to believe that the sam e quality which went
into the manufacture of the established product will be found in the
new offering (63:2). Creative tradem arks enable the consumer to
identify the product quickly and accurately (77:16).
In discussing the use of slogans in marketing, Ketchum
stated, "One of the most unobtrusive tools of the advertiser, yet one
of his most powerful ones, is the slogan." He recommended that
the slogan have about five words, it should mention the product if
possible, and that poetry, being more memorable than prose,
should be the form (70:30).
The diversification of large companies has created pro
blems in the selection of appropriate slogans for each general
field of endeavor. Slogans aimed at one public often were totally
86
inaccurate or misleading for another consumer. Shell Oil execu
tive, Gordon Biggar, reported that his company solved the dilemma
by adopting the slogan, 'The Pursuit of Excellence" for all Shell
products, eliminating the problem of inappropriateness for any
single product. Follow-up studies indicated that the all-inclusive
slogan was effective (54:14).
One author recommended that the slogan should be truthful
and emphasize rewards to the beneficiary rather than the worth of
the organization. The slogan should be repeated constantly and
hinge in some manner, either directly or indirectly, on the Golden
Rule (9:136).
Direct mail
As a form of communication, direct mail has a readership
of 75 per cent (75:256). No other form of communication, with the
exception of face-to-face contact, can boast that percentage. C are
ful and purposeful planning in direct-m ailing pieces will give the
sender a distinct advantage over other types of advertising or
communication.
Content analysis plays an important role in the selection
of material for the direct mailing. In discussing subject m atter,
Berelson stated:
87
This is perhaps the most general category used in con
tent analysis studies and it answers the most elementary
question: What is the communication about? This is the
basic question in analysis prim arily concerned with deter
mining the relative emphases given to different topics in a
body of communication content. (2:149)
The lack of content analysis may be the cause of ineffective
communication. Henry reported, "We may know what it is that we
intend to say; whether or not this is what our audience actually
understands is another m atter altogether." (20:183)
In discussing the kind of information given to its customers,
Sears executive, Theodore Houser, stated:
In our own approach to our custom ers, we have taken
the position that the more informed they are, the better
custom ers they will be. We have gone to great lengths to
keep them informed—through full disclosure of merchandise
characteristics in detailed catalog copy, informative labels,
and so on. We believe in giving custom ers all the facts
about our merchandise so they can make sound decisions.
(22:41)
Although direct mail is thought of generally in the selling
of a product or service, it is often utilized to promote the institution
(18:202). Stockholders enjoy reading copies of sales literature
which have helped the company to realize a profit on the past year's
operation (18:221).
Direct mail is one effective method in the public relations
portfolio. The answers to four fundamental questions posed by
Henry should dictate the method by which the public will be reached.
88
The questions are:
1. What do we want to say?
2. To whom should we say it?
3. How should we say it?
4. Where should we say it? (20:186)
Whether it is selling a product or an institution, direct
mail is a potent means of advertising (18:202). Direct mail cam
paigns have won nominations, swung elections, influenced votes,
and motivated people to buy (3:224).
Annual reports
New York Stock Exchange's president, Keith Funston,
reported that the annual report is the most important single com
munication a company has with its stockholders each year (81:26).
Rosenthal found that 69 per cent of the women stockholders preferred
annual reports which were composed of photographs, charts, and
readable text (81:26).
Quarterly financial reports to supplement the annual publi
cation were considered extremely important by Beveridge (4:230).
The author also recommended the inclusion of information about
the officers and other employees who may have received honors
from their colleagues or community during the year (4:175).
Management is often prone to include company achievements
during the year without taking stockholders into their confidence
89
about the needs of the organization (4:175). Annual reports should
include evidence of long-range planning being considered by the
officers (63:4).
Although many of the stockholders may know the manage
ment officers, it is recommended that pictures of the principal
officers, with brief biographical data, be included in the annual
report. This action provides an opportunity for new stockholders
to become better acquainted with management and, as a result,
they are more inclined to support those officers and their decisions
(4:178).
Beveridge suggested that the annual report be summarized
and distributed to the employees to keep them informed on the
progress of the company. The author stressed that the "we"
approach, particularly with employees, would tend to build
employee morale (4:214).
Weiner encouraged the development of press kits for
distribution to representatives of the news media, and that the
annual report be included in the kit (92:395).
Management was reminded that stockholders are human
beings first and investors second. As people, they appreciate
cordial treatment, being asked for their opinions, and receiving
adequate information (9:109). Holders of small amounts of stock
90
often are excluded from annual meetings by distance. Beveridge
recommended that management consider holding the annual meetings
in different geographical locations each year (4:78).
L etters are often enclosed with the annual report to the
investor. Hahn suggested that, although personal letters can be an
effective public relations device, mimeographed form letters in
tended to appear as personal letters are alm ost always a mistake
(18:202).
Annual reports, and all other printed m aterials sent to the
stockholder, are public relations publications whether or not they
were designed for that purpose. Segard suggested several methods
by which costs of the publications could be reduced, but he stressed
the point that the line between inexpensive and cheap was narrow
and a mistake in judgment could be a costly one in public relations
value (84:21).
Magazines
The magazine field is large and involved. Competition for
space is generally limited to a contest between staff and free-lance
w riters. Each magazine has its own audience and individual form at,
demanding not only writing skill but an intimate knowledge of the
magazine itself (18:329). The most successful invasion of the
magazine field by commercial enterprises has been by those
91
companies whose community service has had a unique result, th ere
by creating interest nationally or, in the case of house organs, for
a particular public (18:223).
Public relations practitioners should be guided by Berelsonb
statement concerning the tim eliness of subject m atter. He stated,
'If popular magazines treat subject A with high frequency and sub
ject B with low, the inference is that people are more interested
in the form er topic. " (2:194)
Newspapers
All news releases must be written by competent personnel
about newsworthy subjects. Country dailies and weeklies usually
welcome stories with local interest. Unique activities of the
company may be selected by various news services and spread
nationally (3:218).
In his book on financial public relations, Beveridge recom
mended that the organization plan news releases which featured
community projects in which the company's role was minimized
(4:127). Other suggestions included the initiation of a file of stories
on the historical development of the product, pictures of the first
employees, and other tim eless subjects for release during slow
news periods (4:114).
Beveridge reported that President Theodore Roosevelt
92
planned news releases for Sunday and Monday editions to capitalize
on the time when newspaper staffs were at a minimum (4:115).
Public Relations Journal editors recommended that stories be r e
leased to the home-town newspapers of those employees who r e
ceived promotions, awards, or other honors (79:30).
Ginsburgh recommended that, in tim es of catastrophe or
undesirable publicity, leading officials meet the press--preferably
with press releases--giving the facts with no attempt to gloss over
the seriousness of the problem. 'It may or may not change the
situation m aterially, but it will at least satisfy a feeling that an
attempt was made to put the case in its best light. Chances are
that your version will get printed, " Ginsburgh stated (3:218).
The newspaper has been considered generally to be the
m ajor means of reaching the public. Although it remains as one
of the major influences of public opinion, it can often be eliminated
from the program when special publics are the target (27:112).
Fast and accurate service by competent personnel avail
able for further information was recommended as the prim ary goal
in establishing good relations with newspaper editors and reporters
(18:323).
93
Building an image
Dirksen and Kroeger stated,
In industry today there is a growing belief on the part of
many executives that the company image is becoming of
even greater importance in the total satisfaction which the
consumer derives from a product. (13:503)
In supporting this statem ent, another author reported,
Most national corporations are as much concerned with their
standing before the national public as they are before the
immediate community surrounding their operations. One
way to approach this greater public is through programs
directed specifically toward various segments of it. (22:53)
He also reported, however, that self-help programs are not the
exclusive province of large corporations. Even the smallest
company with an interest in agriculture, education, and medicine,
for example, can set in motion powerful forces for improvement
(22:54).
Griswold cautioned public relations executives when he
stated:
The cult of image worship is attracting a dangerously
high number of adherents who do not recognize that public
acceptance and support of an organization is accomplished
not by claptrap and noisemaking but by positive identifica
tion with solid character and integrity. Only consistently
good performance, publicized with judgment, taste, and
skill, can build an enduring reputation. (65:1)
In his studies of motivation research, Henry found that the
consumer wants and buys more than the end-product of the assembly
line. The consumer buys the total personality or image of the
94
product. "Of course, the image will normally be strongly affected
by the reality, but it is also a creation of such factors as packaging,
marketing, and advertising. " (20:182)
V
Henry referred to the necessary role of advertising and
public relations activity in business and product promotion. He
stated that most products and services require both "pre-selling"
and "point-of-sale" pressure for acceptance by the publics (20:168).
Martineau asserted that it was not necessary to change the
product when management desired to change the public image of
that product. He stated, "Pepsi-Cola became newsy and exciting
to the consumer when it changed its image--not the product itself. "
(29:150)
Changing markets were emphasized as one reason for re-
evaluation of the image. P rinters1 Ink editors reported that the
male market in the United States will increase to 65 million mem
bers by 1970. Of even greater significance was the report that the
twenty to thirty-four year-old group will grow by 25 per cent in the
next ten years (91:29).
The commercial literature reported a variety of techniques
in various fields leading to improvement of the image. A super
market chain in Texas developed its own public relations depart
ment which promotes virtually everything that is good for the
community of San Antonio. Local civic organizations promoting
benefit events, schools seeking tax increases, and hospitals en
larging their facilities through public subscription were cited as
examples of the civic activities supported by the chain (88:75).
Advertising executive, Cunningham, initiated a program
reported in the Public Relations Journal. Account executives were
required to spend one week each year in the field of retail selling
for accounts they held. Cunningham stated that his men had a
better knowledge of the problems in selling the products and gained
ideas for future promotions (68:20).
A large manufacturer of bowling equipment developed a
promotion to raise money for a local civic project and encourage
bowling as a family sport. The company offered to donate a major
portion of the funds from each transaction to the town project
during a given period of time. Civic authorities encouraged
families to support the project, newspapers printed the progress,
and the bowling center gained public support and praise (57:24).
One purpose in the selection of the International Checker
of the Year was to improve employee morale. Improvement of the
image of the supermarket management which supported this contest
was a side benefit. The public, whose votes made the trip possible
for the finalists, became aware of the service being provided by
96
pleasant and efficient checkers. Newspaper, radio, and television
coverages were excellent, the Super Market Merchandising editors
reported (87:48).
Ross stated that making friends for the company or in
dustry by working with and through the schools was an effective
method of creating a good image with future generations. He
reported that Hill and Knowlton, In c ., one of the "big two" public
relations organizations, had initiated the first education department
in a public relations firm . The purpose is to help clients begin and
maintain friendly relationships with the schools. Categories
suggested were: scholarships, research grants, endowments,
assembly program s, teaching aids, and the donation of equipment
(36:103).
A variety of sales promotions offering prizes for attaining
prescribed goals was reported as a successful technique in
virtually every field of merchandising (86:122).
Another recent development in advertising to promote or
change an image is the inclusion of humor in the text and illustra
tions. Dilman stated,
Since the American male is more mature than he was a
decade ago, and has more social courage, he can be
reached by degrees of sophistication and humor in ad
vertising which would have been impossible ten years
ago. (59:32)
One author reported that banks in many parts of the United States
are using humor in their advertising to help destroy the bank's
"curmudgeon" image (49:31).
Griswold wrote that a good "corporate image" is not
created by a public relations man waving a wand to evoke a flatter
ing opinion of an organization. Only consistently good performance,
publicized skillfully and in good taste, can build a respected
reputation (65:1).
Pine reviewed the necessity of keeping the public informed
and stated, "What people tend to understand, they tend to trust.
What they tend to trust, they tend to support." (78:39)
Advertising in public relations
Public relations concerns itself with the distribution of
ideas (3:63). Burnett stated,
Public relations starts from within. So consideration of
devices to offset ill will and build good will begins with
the environment of a management and its employees, its
neighbors, its visitors, and casual passersby. (9:138)
Public relations, then, is the responsibility of everyone in every
department of every organization. Lesly wrote,
Since public relations encompasses all functions that pro
ject to large groups the character of the company and its
messages, it is apparent that advertising is one of the
techniques involved in public relations. (72:26)
98
Advertising may fulfill part of its responsibility to public
relations by showing restraint in promoting products or services.
Lesly stated,
Persuasive communication through indirect means calls for
sensitivity to public attitudes, sensibilities and tests;
restraint in beating the drums for the product, the cause,
or the organization; and a judgment covering the whole
range of human psychology and attitudes. (72:26)
In discussing the believability of advertising, and its
effect on the image of a company, Maloney wrote, "Advertising
is most likely to be believed when its purpose is to reinforce
already existing attitudes toward the product." (74:7) In support
ing this statement, Lesly said,
People tend to select out for attention those advertisements
which are quickly recognizable as being in accord with
interests or beliefs which they already hold; and they are
much less likely to pay attention to other advertisements.
(72.2)
This statement tends to substantiate in the advertising
field the findings of Ho viand et al. that once a person is persuaded
or committed to one opinion, subsequent incompatible arguments
tend to be rejected (23:263).
In discussing criteria for successful advertising copy,
Stebbins wrote, 'It has the ring of truth, the swing of conviction."
(85:71) About the writer, he said, 'Today's advertising strategist
must make people stop because they want to stop, not because he
99
wants them to stop. " (85:71)
Bernays reported that it was possible to mold public
opinion only if the persuader is, in effect, exposing
an unexpressed attitude of the public. But if you project an
idea or service that the public does not want, is not ready
to accept, and, in fact, resists, then you cannot immedi
ately mold that public opinion. What you may be doing by
projecting your idea to them is to intensify their existing
attitudes. (53:12)
Lesly appeared to support this contention when he stated,
"Advertising has been notably unsuccessful in most efforts to over
come a prejudice or an attitude of indifference that is deep-seated."
(72:28)
Any attempt to overcome that indifference or to change an
attitude must be based on an organized and well-planned public
relations program. Small companies or groups of individuals
should begin with what is known within the organization. 'Once a
promotion is begun and is running smoothly, new programs may
be initiated using information already known." (51:23) Teven
recommended that the entire public relations program not hinge on
one type of promotion or approach. Ab soon as the one vehicle is
underway and moving well, other ideas should be developed
immediately and initiated in an orderly manner (89:3).
Teven also urged that the public relations men working
with a difficult client or management of a small company attempting
100
to begin its public relations program must build confidence and take
nothing for granted. External and internal communications are
most effective when viewed as a two-way street (89:3).
As Cutler stated,
Make certain that the public relations department realizes
that its prim ary function can be likened to a two-way street--
it not only must interpret the company to the public, but
it must also interpret the several publics to the company.
(3:49)
Grief, president of his own public relations firm, sup
ported Teven's and Cutler's concept of the two-way street for
effective communications, but maintained that professional publicity
service was more effective than the organization of a communi
cations department within the company. He claimed that the private
service is less expensive, more competent, more knowledgeable,
had better contacts, and maintained better editorial talent (64:65).
Institutional campaigns, or campaigns designed to sell the
company more than the individual product, demanded a different
type of promotion. Henry stated three questions which must be
answered in the development of an institutional campaign. They
were:
1. What attitudes do the people currently hold with
regard to the company, and why?
2. What attitudes do we want them to hold, and why?
3. What do we want to say, to whom, and why?
(20:211)
ioi
In fiiscussing media and the placement of the material once
it is developed, Schwed reported, "Media selection will largely be
guided by marketing strategy stemming from the basic question--
who is the customer? " (83:33)
In speaking of the approach after the customers have been
identified, Gingrich stated, "The year 1963 inaugurated an age of
distribution and marketing. It is no longer enough to be able to
produce something, but more important to get it distributed (63:1).
The customers are willing to pay for quality. Any signs of product
staleness, or of too much sameness, will inevitably raise their ire
(63:2). The quality revolution has produced a public which is too
sm art to be taken in by superficialities." (63:3)
Public relations is the responsibility of everyone associated
with the enterprise, but it is the function of management. Ford
Motor Company executive, Charles F. Moore, Jr., stated,
It is the function of manufacturing good will with the same
relentless attention to detail as is devoted to the manufacture
of motorcars, kitchen sinks, oil pumps, and plastic zippers.
(36:161)
In answering a question about the techniques with which this was
done, he concluded, "We just do from day to day what comes
naturally, with as little trickery and manipulation as possible."
(36:161)
Summary of the Chapter
102
Public relations and education are multimillion dollar
enterprises of communication. Commercial public relations has
been successful in telling the corporate story to the American public.
People in education have the responsibility of keeping the publics in
formed completely about the progress and problems of their schools.
The need for the most complete portfolio of public relations tech
niques suggested turning to the commercial field seeking the newest
and best methods with which to tell the story of education.
From its beginning with the first office in New York in
1916, commercial public relations grew slowly. Although signifi
cant advances were made during World War 1, the post-war pros
perity led most firms to become lethargic about the need for a
continuing program of communication with the publics.
Following the economic upheaval of 1929, the folly of
allowing public relations to become strained from inactivity was
apparent, and attempts were made to rebuild the programs.
World War II created serious material shortages. With
little to sell, most companies initiated programs to keep their
names before the public in anticipation of a better day to come. The
maturing of public relations as an industry following World War II
resulted in the development of guiding principles for the practice of
103
public relations.
Public relations is defined by several authors and special
ists in the field, and the role of this communication profession was
presented.
The influence of persuasion in the lives of the American
people was discussed. The techniques of persuasion and their
utilization in winning support for products and causes were given.
The creation of attitudes and opinions and the retention possibilities
in the face of conflicting argument were reviewed.
The media of communication given included the spoken
word, radio and television, film s and film strips, newspapers,
company publications, pamphlets and brochures, annual reports,
direct mailings, magazines, displays, and visual aids. A brief
description of each medium was presented.
Examples of methods by which these media were used in
effective communication were given. The rationale for the
approaches cited was presented and the possible effectiveness of
each medium was proposed.
The ''affectivity” of illustrations used in two particularly
effective advertising campaigns was reported.
Creating a response in the viewer through the use of themes,
symbols, and slogans was reviewed. Image building was presented
104
as an important aspect of the public relations program . It was re
ported that possibly this goal or objective had been reduced in
value through the superficial attempts of some public relations
practitioners.
The role of advertising in public relations was presented.
Principles in product advertising were reported, and the questions
to be answered by institutional advertising were given.
The changing levels of sophistication of the publics were
cited, and the demand for quality in products and advertising was
reported.
The concluding paragraphs stated that public relations is
the responsibility of all members of the enterprise, but it is
prim arily the function of management.
CHAPTER IV
RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE
ON COMMERCIAL PUBLIC
RELATIONS TECHNIQUES
Introduction
One objective of this study was to select commercial public
relations techniques from the literature and evaluate them as
potential approaches to telling the school story. As a profession,
public relations is dedicated to effective communication. It is
possible that the techniques devised could be adopted to communicate
the public school story to its publics.
In attempting to judge the educational adaptability of the
fifty selected commercial techniques, a panel o r jury of educational
public relations specialists was chosen. Each of the twelve was
nominated by Dr. Roy K. Wilson, S ecretary-T reasurer of the
National School Public Relations Association. By circumstance or
design, his nominations included seven specialists in public school
positions at the local district level. One public relations specialist in
105
106
each of the following levels or areas of education completed the jury.
Represented are a college public relations director, a National
School Board Association staff member, a state education association
staff member, a college professor of education specializing in public
relations, and a state education department representative.
Procedure
The seven-page questionnaire which each specialist agreed
to review contained fifty items gleaned from the commercial public
relations media published recently. Periodicals covered the span of
months from January, 1963, to April, 1965. Books were less
limited, prim arily because the techniques suggested or reported
were generally of a more enduring and less specific nature.
Each question was introduced with a brief paragraph citing
the commercial approach. The question asked of the specialists
followed and attempted to adapt the given technique to education.
This adaptation statement was rated by the specialist by checking the
space marked "Outstanding," "Good,” "Weak," or "Should Not Be
U sed." (See Appendix B for a copy of the questionnaire.)
Although comments concerning the statements were not
invited, many were included. Those of importance were recorded
following the statement, question, and responses.
107
Action on the survey was quick and certain. Each specialist
completed the task within a few days. The return was 100 per cent,
and all questionnaires were returned within two weeks.
Data from the questionnaire
Six hundred responses were obtained from twelve specialists
in the completion of this questionnaire. The responses ranged from a
high of 92 per cent consensus to a low of 8 per cent on individual
items. As would be anticipated when asking opinions of people, the
reactions on a single technique ranged from "Outstanding" to "Should
Not Be U sed." For purposes of acceptance or rejection of a given
technique, the arbitrary figure of 75 per cent agreement was estab
lished. This procedure agrees with that used in previous studies by
Johnson (43) and Rand (45) in which an arbitrary and logical accept
ance or rejection point was established. A tabulation of all responses
*
indicated a natural break at this point in terms of the numbers of
responses or reactions above and below this 75 per cent level.
Following each question is a tabulation of responses which
will allow the reader to study the range of answers to each question.
The legend for the tabulations is as follows:
DPR - District Public Relations
CPR - College Public Relations
EAPR - Education Association Public Relations
SPR - State Public Relations
SBPR - School Board Public Relations
EPPR - Education Professor in Public Relations
108
Responses to the questionnaire
1. Business and industry are being encouraged by advertising
specialists to develop and use trademarks on every
product and in each communication.
School districts should attempt to develop and use a
unique trademark o r symbol to identify themselves.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 3 3 25
Good
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
4 1 1
1
1 1 8
1
67
8
to ta l 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 lOO
Although three district-level specialists rated this technique
as "Outstanding," the majority of all respondents rated it as "Good."
The state education department representative gave this technique a
"Weak" rating and commented, "Education is not in a merchandising
situation, nor a particularly competitive one." There were no
further comments.
2. Institutional advertising is beginning to use films to
improve the image of the company. These films are
shown at club programs and civic activities.
School districts should be encouraged to make an
inexpensive, professional quality film of the activities
to be shown to sim ilar civic groups.
109
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 6 1 1 1 9 75
Good 1 1 8
Weak 1 1 8
Should Not .
Be Used
Did Not
Respond 1 1 8
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 99
The school board respondent rated this technique as "Weak."
With nine rating it as "Outstanding" and one person adding a "Good, "
ten of the twelve believed it to be very useful.
One member, the college public relations specialist, did
not respond and stated that "inexpensive" tended to be a loaded word
and influenced the answer beyond acceptable lim its. The education
association respondent stated that the words "inexpensive" and
"professional quality" were incompatible, although he rated this as
an outstanding technique.
3. At least one successful advertising concern began several
years ago to place its account executives into the retail
outlets of large accounts to gain ideas to help sell the
retailer and his business.
It would benefit the schools, the community, and the
administration if each administrator would substitute
three or four days each year to teach at various grade
levels within his school or district, using lesson plans
provided by the regular teacher.
no
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 3 1 4 33
Good 2 1 1 1 5 42
Weak
Should Not
Be Used 2 1 3 25
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 160
Barely making the acceptable level, this technique gained
nine votes for "Outstanding” and "Good." The remaining three
specialists marked "Should Not Be Used." One who ranked it lowest
stated, "One or two days with his own lesson plans might not be a bad
idea." The State Education Department rater wrote, "This is
outstanding in a sm aller system; not so significant in a large system."
4. One division of General Motors has its own company
radio station and part of the time is devoted to interviews
with people who have interesting jobs in the plant.
The district superintendent could arrange a weekly inter
view over a local radio station. Each week the subject
for the ensuing week could be announced and townspeople
could send in questions to be asked by the superintendent
of his guest who is selected from the certificated or
classified staffs.
I l l
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 3 1 1 1 1 7 58
Good 4 1 5 42
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 I I I I I U IG ff
Every respondent gave this technique a ’’Good” or
"Outstanding" rating, with the greater number favoring the top mark.
Although he rated the idea as "Good," the State Education Depart
ment specialist noted, "There can be very dangerous problems here."
5. Employees of an eastern manufacturing plant decided
to organize a SOME DAY program to which they donated
part of their lunch money which would have been spent
in the company cafeteria. They called it So Others May
Eat Day, and donated their money to CARE. “They
invited others in the community to share their project,
set a target date, and raised hundreds of dollars during
the few days the drive was held.
Teachers could improve their image in the community
by sponsoring such a SOME DAY program and inviting
other groups in the community to join them.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 2 1 3 25
Good 3 1 1 1 6 50
Weak 1 1 8
Should Not
Be Used 1 1 2 17
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 16o
112
The full range of responses was given on this technique.
Although it made the acceptable level, three believed it to be
"Outstanding," while two were definitely opposed to using it. One
remarked that the same idea could be used by participating in the
community fund program. There were no other comments.
6. Shell Oil Company adopted a slogan, "The Pursuit of
Excellence," which was printed on all correspondence
to all of its publics, in an attempt to improve its image.
Surveys indicated that it was a successful promotion.
School districts could develop sim ilar slogans, use
them during part of the school year, and call attention
to a particular part of the schools.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 4 4 33
Good 3 1 1 1 6 50
Weak 1 1 2 17
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 100
Two raters whose occupations keep them farthest from the
classroom rated this as a weak technique. Ten of the twelve believed
it to be a "Good" to "Outstanding" idea, although the majority favored
the second-level rating. The State Education Department respondent
added, "A general slogan, yes; but education should always be
considered as a whole. A slick slogan can never replace quality
perform ance."
113
7. Banks and savings Institutions recently began using
humor in their advertising to help destroy the
"curmudgeon" image.
A school district should consider using humor in its
brochures for teacher recruitm ent, bond and tax
campaigns, and other printed m atter.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 1 1 8
Good 2 1 3 25
Weak 1 1 1 1 4 33
Should Not
Be Used 3 1 4 33
Did Not
Respond
'Total 1 1 1 1 1 1 i2
Two-thirds of the panelists rejected this humor technique by
rating it equally "Weak" or "Should Not Be U sed." One "Outstand
ing" and two "Good" m arks were given by district public relations
representatives, and the college specialist agreed with the "Good"
rating. One district respondent commented, "Must be very good to
be successful." The State Education Department person stated,
"Education is not a humorous business. Humor is the most difficult
form to w rite."
8. Business executives occasionally use opinion research
to solve problems or grasp opportunities to advance
toward a goal.
School superintendents should consider sending out
questionnaires to staff members from time to time ask
ing for their opinion on a given school subject or problem.
114
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 3 1 1 1 1 7 58
Good 3 1 4 33
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
1 1 8
Total 1 I 1 I I I VI 9?
This technique drew only one "Weak" rating, and was given
an " Outstanding" in seven responses. Three of the four marking
"Good" ratings were district-level specialists. Although giving the
technique an "Outstanding” rating, the State Education Department
representative commented, "Opinion research usually includes
'customer* research—the public should be consulted and questioned
also."
9. Executives often communicate with salesmen in the field
to gain new ideas they might use in reaching the publics.
School district adm inistrators should contact teachers
regularly for new ideas they might use in reaching the
publics.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 3 1 1 5 42
Good 3 1 1 1 6 50
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
1 1 8
Total 7 1 I I I I \Z H 5 C
115
Ninety-two per cent of the respondents rated this technique
as "Good” or "Outstanding." Half of the raters marked "Good,"
while one district respondent believed it to be a "Weak" idea. There
were no comments amplifying the responses.
10. M anufacturers often use "unsolicited testimonials" for
their products in advertising campaigns.
School district adm inistrators should contact people in
the community who have given testimonials to secure
quotes which could be used in tax and bond campaigns,
recruitm ent brochures, and other printed m aterial
reaching a segment of the public.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 2 1 3 25
Good 3 1 1 5 42
Weak 2 1 1 4 33
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 lOo
Although 25 per cent of the respondents believed this to be
an "Outstanding" technique, it did not reach the acceptable level of
75 per cent. Two district-level people, the education association
representative, and the School Board Association rater combined
their "Weak" votes to reject it as inappropriate. The School Board
representative commented, "The 'band wagon' approach is O.K. as a
reenforcing device."
116
11. Business and industry often give shares of stock as
rewards for outstanding production or new ideas.
School districts should encourage local industry to
give a share of stock to each student in the top 1 per
cent of his junior class, with the stipulation that the
student attend the annual stockholders meeting to
learn how economics works in the business world.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good 4 1 1 6 50
Weak 2 1 3 25
Should Not
Be Used 1 1 1 3 25
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 l2 lO O
Half of the raters considered this to be a "Good" approach,
while the remaining group rejected it evenly as "Weak" or "Should
Not Be Used." Although a bare majority of district specialists rated
it as a "Good" technique, two others considered it "Weak." The
Professor of Education commented simply, "T errible." There were
no other comments.
12. Many industries build rapport with their communities by
adopting and supporting a particular organization such
as the Boys' Club, the dental clinic, or a children's home.
Golf or bowling tournaments are held, for example, with
the proceeds going to the particular organization.
Staff members of local school districts should consider
the same type of program by adopting a worthy group,
organizing fund-raising tournaments, and providing
leadership in the community to support the project.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 1 1 8
Good 4 1 l 6 50
Weak 2 l 3 25
Should Not
Be Used 1 1 2 17
Did Not
Respond V
Total 7 1 1 l 1 1 12 100
Seven votes of "Good" or "Outstanding" failed to raise this
technique to the acceptable level. Forty-two per cent rejected the
idea with a "Weak" or "Should Not Be Used" rating. One comment
from a district-level administrator read, "Which worthy cause?
Select one, and you alienate others."
13. Many local businesses subscribe to and support the local
Welcome Wagon or Chamber of Commerce.
District superintendents should consider writing a letter
of welcome, giving school locations and other pertinent
data, to be distributed with the Welcome package given
to new residents.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 5 1 1 1 1 9 75
Good 2 1 3 25
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 I I I I I H W5
One of the highest positive responses was given to this
118
technique. A rating of 75 per cent at the "Outstanding” level and
three "Good" marks from the district and college respondents
completed the ratings.
14. Business and industry continually strive for the personal
touch, often with the families of employees as well as
the general membership of the community.
District superintendents should call on the homes and
families of employees and other townspeople to show
their interest in them as people.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good 3 1 1 5 42
Weak 2 1 1 4 33
Should Not
Be Used 2 1 3 25
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 l£ lM
Less than half of the raters considered this technique as
high as "Good." Seven members of the panel rejected it as "Weak"
or "Should Not Be Used." Two district people and the education
association representative believed that the idea should not be used at
all. The college specialist placed a question mark over the reference
to "call on the homes." The State Education Department rater
commented, "Again, size is a deciding factor— -but principals could
be used." The school board respondent wrote the one word, "Time7'
in support of his "Weak" rating.
119
IS. Personal letters to stockholders are encouraged by
public relations officers of large companies.
D istrict superintendents or principals should write
short notes to families entering or leaving the district
o r school:
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 3 1 1 5 42
Good 2 1 1 1 5 42
Weak 1 1 8
Should Not
Be Used 1 1 8
Did Not
Respond
'total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 106
Eighty-four per cent of the respondents, splitting their votes
evenly, rated this technique as "Good" or "Outstanding." The votes
for "Weak" and "Should Not Be Used" were offered by district-level
specialists.
16. Large companies often hold annual meetings in various
parts of the nation to give stockholders the opportunity
to attend.
Boards of Education and district superintendents should
hold their regular meetings in different parts of the
city to give more people the opportunity to attend and
ask questions.
120
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 4 1 1 1 7 58
Good 3 1 4 33
Weak 1 1 8
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total' ------ 7------- 1 ------- 1 ------ 1 ------- 1 --------1 ------ U--------5?
Seven "Outstanding" and four "Good" ratings led this
technique to a 92 per cent acceptance rating. Keeping it from being
unanimous with a "Weak" mark, the State Education Department
rater commented, "No district is so large that headquarters is out of
reach."
17. Publicly-owned companies often encourage their stock
holders to lobby for or against legislation which might
affect the company.
Boards of Education and district superintendents should
encourage their townspeople to write letters lobbying
for o r against legislation which could affect the school
district.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 5 1 6 50
Good 2 2 17
Weak 1 1 2 17
Should Not
Be Used 1 1 8
Did Not
Respond 1 1 8
Total 1 i 1 1 1 1 12 100
121
This idea fell below the acceptable level, although it drew
six ratings in the "Outstanding" bracket. Two "Good" and two
"Should Not Be Used" marks completed the ratings. One person did
not respond. The written comment stated, "Dangerous. I’d be very
cautious about this. Could backfire." Another said, "Should help
townspeople decide how to act and then encourage action."
18. Public relations offices often have a file of feature
articles concerning their clients and their products for
release during "slow news" periods.
School districts should attempt to build such a file of
feature articles on teaching techniques, historical
data, e tc ., for release during quiet periods.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
7
1
1
1 1 1
8
4
67
33
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 icto
Four ratings of "Good" were the lowest marks received by
this technique. The eight remaining raters posted "Outstanding"
responses. All seven school district respondents favored the top
bracket, while those further removed from the district level tended
to rate it as "Good."
122
19. Newspapers deliberately attempt to avoid news stories
or features which smack of commercialism, but will
use stories which include the commercial aspect if non
commercial information is written into the story.
School district w riters should attempt to include, for
example, information about the F ire Department as
well as the fact that second grade children visited it on
a given day.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 2 2 17
Good 2 1 1 1 1 6 50
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
3 1 4 33
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 100
Failing to make the acceptable level, this idea drew six
"Good” ratings and two "Outstanding" marks. Four respondents,
however, rated it as "Weak."
20. Businessmen state that the annual report encompassing
as many facts as possible about the company is the one
most important document issued.
School districts should issue an annual report including
as many activities of the school district as are feasible.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 5 1 6 50
Good 1 1 2 17
Weak 1 1 1 3 25
Should Not
Be Used 1 1 8
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 l2 ito
123
Although two-thirds of the respondents considered this
technique as "Good" or "Outstanding," it failed to gain acceptance at
the 75 per cent level. Three respondents considered it a "Weak" idea
and one marked that it "Should Not Be Used." The school board
representative commented that the subject matter should be narrowed.
The professor of education added, "No, this is clutter. Lacking
focus."
21. Professional journals in medicine and law, for example,
are often liberally sprinkled with the vocabulary of the
profession.
Superintendents and school personnel in general should
use professional term s in their oral and written contact
with the various publics.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good
Weak
Should Not
2 2 17
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
5 1 1 1 1 1 10 83
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 ibo
Unanimous rejection of this technique was accomplished by
ten ratings of "Should Not Be Used" and two marks indicating that the
idea was "Weak." One respondent commented, "Rudolph Flesch
wouldn't like thatf" in e m p h a s iz in g his "Should Not Be Used" rating.
124
22. Business and industry regularly release information to
the public when even the most insignificant honor has
been awarded to the plant o r one of the employees.
School districts should be encd&raged to print brochures
and/or send out news releases'concerning honors and
achievements accorded to it over the year, showing the '
public how much it is getting for its tax dollar.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 3 1 1 1 6 50
Good 3 1 4 33
Weak 1 1 2 17
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 * 1 1 1 l2 ito
Eighty-three per cent believed this to be an acceptable
technique in public relations. Half of the respondents gave it an
"Outstanding” rating, while one-third believed it to be "Good." Two
responded with "Weak" assessm ents of the idea. Although he rated it
as a "Good" technique, one school d istrict evaluator questioned the
tax dollar reference.
23. Many businesses regularly schedule news releases for
the express purpose of introducing o r reintroducing
management to the employees and the community.
School districts should use their inside and outside pub
lications to introduce o r reintroduce the superintendent,
his staff, and the Board of Education to the community.
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total
125
Per
Cent
Outstanding 2 2 17
Good 3 1 1 5 42
Weak 2 1 1 1 5 42
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 I I I I I U H 5 T
Barely achieving a majority of "Good" and "Outstanding"
marks, this technique was rejected by the panel with five ratings of
"Weak." A majority of the district-level respondents marked it as
"Good" o r "Outstanding," but other panel members considered it too
weak to be effective. There were no comments to indicate why they
rated it in this manner.
24. Highlights of the annual report to the stockholders are
often rewritten and condensed for distribution to the
employees for their information.
District superintendents should submit an informal
written report to the district employees, utilizing
m aterial taken from the annual report to the community,
stressing the "we" approach.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 2 1 1 1 5 42
Good 3 1 1 5 42
Weak 2 2 17
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 I I I n I0T
126
Ten of the twelve panel members rated this as "Good" or
"Outstanding," while two district-level people classed it as "Weak."
In supporting his "Weak" rating, one respondent stated, "Regular
staff bulletin is b e tte r." The school board staff member commented,
"Should be sent out in advance of the annual re p o rt."
25. Regular quarterly financial reports are considered a
"must" by most major companies.
School districts should endeavor to send regular reports
to the community concerning the achievements, goals,
possible problems, and services provided to the students
and not generally known by the public.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
7 1 1
1
1 1 11
1
92
8
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 100
This technique achieved one of the highest ratings with 92
per cent "Outstanding" and 8 per cent "Good" tallies. In support of
his top rating, the professor of education stated, 'This is to p s."
26. People trained in public relations often claim that
private public relations organizations can supply better,
more knowledgeable services to a company than its own
department within the company is able to do.
A school district having public relations problems should
employ a professional public relations agency or individual
<
127
on contract to help overcome the difficulty.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good 3 3 25
Weak 3 1 1 1 1 7 58
Should Not
Be Used 1 1 8
Did Not
Respond 1 1 8
Total 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 99
Three district-level communications specialists believed
this to be an "Outstanding' technique, but the overwhelming majority
rated it as "Weak" or "Should Not Be Used." The education
professor did not respond, and commented, "Most districts would
have to be very cautious about 'em ploy.'"
27. Quick and easy sales promotions are being achieved
by using pressure-sensitive labels attached to
products, letterheads, and other communication
media.
Small pressure-sensitive labels promoting bond and
tax campaigns, Public Schools Week, and many other
school activities could be attached to envelopes,
placed on newspaper racks, and evident in many
heavily-trafficked areas in the community could be
an inexpensive way of getting the message to the
public.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good 3 1 1 1 6 50
Weak 3 1 1 5 42
Should Not
Be Used 1 1 8
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 1O 0
Fifty per cent of the panelists rated this as a "Good"
technique, but it failed to gain the acceptable level. With five "Weak"
and "Should Not Be Used" evaluations, the idea was rejected. There
were no comments indicating why the technique was not given more
support.
28. Many organizations are using pressure-sensitive
name badges to promote their organizations, groups,
and special causes.
School districts, or their employee organizations, should
have their slogan or name printed on name badges and
distributed free of charge to local clubs and organizations
to promote education, bond issues, and any relevant
activity.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good 2 2 17
Weak 3 1 1 1 1 7 58
Should Not
Be Used 2 1 3 25
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 I I I I I H IG ff
129
Three respondents believed that this technique "Should Not
Be Used," and seven others rated it as "Weak." Two district-level
public relations specialists considered it to be "Good." In support
ing his rating of "Weak," the professor of education stated, "I’d be
careful."
29. Many school districts mimeograph or otherwise
duplicate parent-information booklets, annual reports,
e tc ., rather than having them printed--prim arily due
to cost.
Districts should make every effort to have formal and
semiformal information printed professionally, even
though the cost is higher, if the material is primarily
for public information.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 4 1 5 42
Good 3 1 1 1 6 50
Weak 1 1 8
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 ibo
This idea achieved acceptance by 92 per cent of the panel
ists. Five ratings of "Outstanding" and six "Good" marks enabled
this approach to receive almost unanimous support. The education
professor rated it as "Weak." The school board representative
commented on the cost reference and stated that the cost was not
necessarily higher for printed materials.
130
30. Advertising agencies occasionally use classified
advertising in several news media in the promotion
of a company or a particular product.
School districts should place several classified ads
in newspapers to promote bond and tax campaigns,
hot lunch programs, and other appropriate school
activities.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good
Weak 2 1 1 1 5 42
Should Not
Be Used 5 1 1 7 58
Did Not
Respond
Total 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 i6b
None of the panelists considered this technique better than
"Weak" or "Should Not Be Used." Forty-two per cent regarded it as
"Weak," with the remainder considering it possibly detrimental. The
school board staff member suggested that display ads with non
public money would be more appropriate. The education professor
stated, "Not the district, but friendly civic groups" could use this
medium.
31. Many companies have produced 8mm film-loop or 35mm
slide programs for use in unattended displays at con
ventions and conferences.
School districts should develop sim ilar film and slide
m aterials to place in local store windows, bank foyers,
and other heavily-trafficked areas to give school
information.
131
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 3 1 1 1 6 50
Good 3 1 4 33
Weak 1 1 2 17
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
'total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 lttt
Six panelists rated this technique as "Outstanding" and four
others considered it "Good." One district specialist and the school
board staff m ember marked it "W eak." Neither respondent gave an
indication of why it had been rated in this manner.
32. An electric power company began an intensive campaign
to combat consumer belief that the service was becoming
prohibitively expensive by publishing pictures of a full
meal cooked electrically for a few pennies.
School districts should try to include in the news media
a specific dollar and cents cost per hour, day, or week
for the service provided to the community.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 1 1 2 17
Good 5 1 6 50
Weak 1 1 2 17
Should Not
Be Used 1 1 8
Did Not
Respond 1 1 8
'Total 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 100
132
Although eight specialists indicated that the idea was
worthwhile, this technique failed to attain an acceptable rating. Half
of the respondents considered it to be "Good" with two others voting
for "Outstanding" o r "W eak." In stating that the technique should not
be used, a district specialist wrote, "Should stress product—quality
education, rather than co st." Supporting his "Good" rating, another
stated, "Good on a per pupil basis." The education professor
commented, "O.K. if emphasis is on service. Costs alone are
dangerous, m isleading."
33. Sales promotion executives are encouraged by leaders
in the field to direct their "clipping services" to secure
all newspaper references to rival companies as well as
their own to secure information regarding the products
of com petitors.
School district adm inistrators should be encouraged to
subscribe to newspapers in communities served by
other highly-respected districts to keep abreast of
curriculum innovations and general school news.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 2 2 17
Good 1 1 1 3 25
Weak 3 1 42
Should Not
7
Be Used 1 1 2 17
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 101
L ess than half of the jury m em bers rated this technique as
133
"Good” or "Outstanding." Forty-two per cent rejected it as "Weak"
and two believed that it "Should Not Be U sed." One commented that
there were better ways to accomplish the same goal, and a second
stated, "NSPRA's Education USA is best and cheapest so u rce ." A
third added that this was an inefficient way in which to learn of other
activities.
34. One advantage often cited regarding conferences and
conventions is that the exchange of information, and
the subsequent triggering of new ideas, leads to greater
growth in individuals and companies.
School district adm inistrators should arrange the auto
matic exchange of printed m aterials with selected
school districts to gain from the experiences and ideas
of others in the field.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 6 1 1 8 67
Good 1 1 1 1 4 33
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 iob
There was unanimous agreement among the panelists that
this technique was either "Outstanding" or "Good." Two-thirds of
the respondents considered it at the top of the rating scale.
35. Sales promotions are often launched with fanfare and a
contest to stimulate a segment of the public.
134
School district adm inistrators should consider launch
ing bond and tax elections with a contest for an
appropriate slogan which could be used in all election
m aterials promoting the vote.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good 1 1 2 17
Weak 5 1 1 7 58
Should Not
Be Used 1 1 1 3 25
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 l2 100
Only two jury members considered this technique worthy of
a "Good" rating, while 83 per cent rejected it as "Weak" or "Should
Not Be Used." In explaining the "Good" rating, the education
professor entered the condition that it must be supported by civic
groups as well.
36. Advertisers generally recognize that the consumer
must be able to project himself into the scene depicted
if he is to be motivated to the point of purchase.
To reach the many publics reading school district
m aterial, adm inistrators should be encouraged to
assess the audience in each of the publics and prepare
differing m aterials on the same subject to insure
effective communication.
135
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 5 1 1 1 1 9 75
Good 2 1 3 25
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 I 1 1 I I 1 2 100
Nine of the twelve panelists considered this an "Outstanding”
idea, and the remaining 25 per cent responded with "Good" ratings.
37. Printers* Ink reports that a survey of direct-m ail
advertising indicated that this media has approximately
75 per cent readership, which is far greater than any
other media.
School districts should mail bulletins and other parent
information directly to the homes rather than rely on
student delivery or m ass media.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 4 1 1 6 50
Good 3 1 1 5 42
Weak 1 1 8
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 I 1 I I 1 T2 lO iT
Half of the panelists rated this as an "Outstanding" idea.
Five others evaluated it as "Good" and this technique attained the
acceptable level. The school board staff representative indicated
136
that it was a "Weak” approach, but no further comment was made.
38. Cocktail parties are often given by industrial concerns
in launching new products or services.
To initiate bond and tax election campaigns or school
board races, private citizens should be encouraged to
give cocktail parties inviting local influential people
as guests to create an interest in the events.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good
Weak 2 1 1 4 33
Should Not
Be Used 5 1 1 1 8 67
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 100
Sixty-seven per cent rejected this technique by indicating
that it "Should Not Be U sed." One-third of the panel considered it
"Weak." The college specialist inserted the word "coffee" in place
of "cocktail," and stated that it depends on the sophistication of the
community.
39. Press kits are recommended by virtually every public
relations organization as a necessity to promote a
given idea or company. These kits include photo
graphs, art work, technical and nontechnical informa
tion, and other pertinent data regarding the company
and its product.
School district adm inistrators should develop sim ilar
kits for distribution at the opening of school term s--
to introduce bond and tax needs, and other significant
actions.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 4 1 5 42
Good 1 1 1 1 4 33
Weak 2 2 17
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond 1 1 8
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 100
Nine panelists combined their ratings to gain acceptance for
this idea. Five "Outstanding" and four "Good" ratings gave this
technique the necessary 75 per cent for acceptability. Two district-
level specialists considered the idea "Weak." One district repre
sentative stated. "Good press-relations are a long-term project.
Press kits little help."
40. Surveys report that four out of ten family heads between
the ages of eighteen and twenty-four move within five
years.
School district administrators who prepare news r e
leases and parent information or curriculum bulletins
should know the mobility of the population and repeat
the subject m atter often enough to reach the new
parents entering the community.
Per
____________DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 6 1 1 1 9 75
Good 1 1 1 3 25
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 iQO
138
All panel members rated this technique as "Outstanding" or
"Good." Seventy-five per cent gave it a top rating, while the
remaining 25 per cent marked as "Good." There were no comments.
41. Printers' Ink reports that one of the most powerful
tools of the advertiser is the slogan.
School district administrators should encourage the
adoption of an appropriate slogan with which to
identify the district.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 1 1 2 17
Good 6 1 1 8 67
Weak 1 1 2 17
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 101
Gaining the support of 83 per cent of the jury members, this
technique reached the acceptable level. Although it received only two
ratings of "Outstanding," eight panelists adjudged it to be "Good."
Two members gave it a "Weak" evaluation.
42. According to the National Research Bureau, direct-mail
sales gross in excess of $300,000,000 annually.
School district administrators responsible for reaching
the community for financial support should become
familiar with the successful direct-m ail selling tech
niques and use this medium in promoting good education.
139
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 3 3 25
Good 2 1 1 1 5 42
Weak 2 1 1 4 33
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1
l2
100
While three members of the panel believed this technique to
be "Outstanding," nine others combined their "Good" and "Weak"
ratings to reject the idea. A majority of the district-level specialists
was among the rejectors, and, although four considered it "Weak,"
there was none who felt that the idea should not be used.
43. Many superm arkets enlist the aid of their customers,
and build staff morale, by having them select the
"Checker of the Year," who competes for national and
international honors. The announced purpose is to
recognize good customer service. Prizes are given
to the winner and runners-up. Staff morale increases
and the image of the company improves.
School districts should consider initiating a "Teacher
of the Year" program locally or area-wide to give
recognition and increase public interest in teaching.
Prizes could be solicited from local or national
merchants.
140
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 1 1 8
Good 3 1 1 1 1 7 58
Weak 1 1 8
Should Not
Be Used 2 1 3 25
Did Not
Respond
'total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 99
More than half of the panelists considered this to be an
acceptable technique, but it was rejected by the ratings of three who
believed that it "Should Not Be Used." The college specialist asked,
"Who selects the public?" Two commented that prizes should not be
solicited from the merchants, and a fourth qualified his "Good"
rating by adding, "If you can assure the staff you've selected the
best teacher."
44. Most large supermarkets have their own public relations
departments or contract with advertising agencies to
promote not only their organizations but promote items
of public-interest as well.
School district administrators should contact local
merchants with the request that they include brief
references to school activities, elections, and other
appropriate school functions in their advertising
rather than seek private funds to publish large ads to
promote an election.
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total
141
Per
Cent
Outstanding 2 1 3 25
Good 5 1 1 1 8 67
Weak 1 1 8
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 100
Two-thirds of the panelists accepted this technique and
rated it as "Good." Three others marked it as "Outstanding," and
the technique attained the acceptable level. In giving it a "Weak"
rating, the school board staff representative commented, "Let the
Citizens' Committee do this." There were no other comments.
45. Sales promotions of all types often give prizes for
attaining prescribed goals for the company or the
individual.
Teacher organizations striving to improve their image
in a community should initiate directly or indirectly a
"Student of the Month" program, based on scholastic
and/or service achievement, with prizes in the form
of tickets to a cultural event or sports activity.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 1 1 8
Good 2 1 1 1 5 42
Weak 4 1 1 6 50
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
’Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 100
142
This technique was rejected by half of the jury members,
while five of the remaining half were rating the idea as "Good."
Eight per cent of the panelists rated it as "Outstanding." The
professor of education stated, "Never. Too discrim inatory."
46. Financial organizations are encouraged by their
public relations advisers to stress the strength of
their businesses in term s of academic degrees held
by the personnel and their experience in the field.
School district administrators should inform the
community of the number of graduate degrees held
and the number of staff members taking graduate
work to better serve the children and the community.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding
Good
5
2 l
l
l
l
l
7
5
58
42
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 l l l l l 12 100
Seven "Outstanding" ratings and five "Good" marks were
combined by the panel members to attain acceptance for this tech
nique. There were no additional comments.
47. Many electronic industries seeking new employees
include information in their recruitment brochures
concerning the availability of graduate work and
incentives offered to those participating.
School district personnel-recruitment brochures
should accent the availability of graduate school -
143
classes, degrees held by current staff members, and
incentives offered for advanced work.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 6 1 1 1 _ 1 10 83
Good 1 1 2 17
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 1 1 1 1 1 1 l2 1O 0
Eighty-three per cent of the respondents considered this to
be an "Outstanding" technique. Two panelists reported it to be
"Good" for recruitm ent purposes. There were no further comments.
48. Public relations specialists are advising management
that boards of directors a re becoming more sophisti
cated in their knowledge of their companies, and that
management should point out the difficulties facing the
companies as well as possible solutions to the
problems.
School district adm inistrators should report to the
Board of Education, and to the community, the
liabilities and problems of the district as well as the
goals achieved to prevent an ouster move by a dis
illusioned public when they become aware that a
problem exists.
144
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 6 1 1 1 1 10 83
Good 1 1 8
Weak 1 1 8
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Although one jury member considered this to be a "Weak"
technique, eleven others adjudged it to be "Outstanding" or "Good."
The combined evaluation of 92 per cent placed it among those tech
niques at the highest level of acceptance.
49. Publicly-governed companies have increased their
attempts to personalize the company image to stock
holders by having management write personal letters
and visit the homes of small stockholders, indicating
their interest in the people supporting the company.
School district adm inistrators should make personal
calls on their "stockholders" in the community to
answer questions and enlist their support of public
schools.
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 1 1 8
Good 5 1 1 7 58
Weak 1 1 2 17
Should Not
Be Used 1 1 2 17
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 100
145
Four members of the panel rated this technique as "Weak"
o r "Should Not Be Used," causing it to be rejected. Forty-eight per
cent regarded it as "Good" and the college specialist rated it
"Outstanding." A district-level specialist commented that it depends
on the size of the district for its effectiveness.
50. Public relations specialists are encouraging business
men to develop interests outside of their commercial
specialties, become proficient in them, and prepare
themselves to speak to community groups, thus
increasing their versatility and adding to the positive
image of the companies.
School teachers and adm inistrators would be wise to
follow this example (of developing avocational
interests and presenting program s to local civic
groups).
Per
DPR CPR EAPR SPR SBPR EPPR Total Cent
Outstanding 6 1 1 8 67
Good 1 1 1 1 4 33
Weak
Should Not
Be Used
Did Not
Respond
Total 7 1 1 1 1 1 12 lOo
Eight panel members regarded this technique as "Outstand
in g ." The remaining four considered it "Good" and assured its
acceptance as an effective idea. There were no comments.
146
Rank order of acceptable techniques
The responses of panel members to each item in the
questionnaire were reported on preceding pages. The items were
listed in order as they appeared in the instrument. A further report
ing appeared to be necessary for more effective utilization of the
information gathered.
The ratings assigned by each jury member were totaled,
giving a percentage of acceptability for each technique. Possible
scores ranged from 100 per cent acceptability to 100 per cent rejec
tion, with each rating carrying a value of 8 per cent. As was stated
earlier, the acceptability level was established at 75 per cent. To
attain acceptability, therefore, the items had to receive "Good"
and/or "Outstanding’ ratings from nine or more panel members.
The following commercial techniques adapted for educational
purposes attained 100 per cent acceptability:
4. The district superintendent could arrange a weekly
interview over a local radio station. Each week the
subject for the ensuing week could be announced and
townspeople could send in questions to be asked by the
superintendent of his guest who is selected from the
certificated and classified staffs.
13. D istrict superintendents should consider writing a
letter of welcome giving school locations and other
pertinent data, to be distributed with the Welcome
package given to new residents.
18. School districts should attempt to build such a file of
147
feature articles on teaching techniques, historical
data, e tc ., for release during quiet periods.
25. School districts should endeavor to send regular reports
to the community concerning the achievements, goals,
possible problems, and services provided to the students
and not generally known by the public.
34. School district adm inistrators should arrange the auto
matic exchange of printed m aterials with selected school
districts to gain from the experiences and ideas of others
in the field.
36. To reach the many publics reading school district material,
adm inistrators should be encouraged to assess the audi
ence in each of the publics and prepare differing m aterials
on the same subject to insure effective communication.
40. School district adm inistrators who prepare news releases
and parent information or curriculum bulletins would
know the mobility of the population and repeat the subject
m atter often enough to reach the new parents entering the
community.
46. School district adm inistrators should inform the community
of the number of graduate degrees held and the number of
staff members taking graduate work to better serve the
children and the community.
47. School district personnel-recruitm ent brochures should
accent the availability of graduate school classes, degrees
held by current staff members, and incentives offered
for advanced work.
50. School teachers and administrators would be wise to
follow this example (of developing avocational interests
and presenting programs to local civic groups).
One mark of "Weak" or "Should Not Be Used" and eleven of
"Good" and/or "Outstanding" reduced the rating to 92 per cent.
Attaining this status were eight ideas. They were:
148
1. School districts should attempt to develop and use a
unique trademark o r symbol to identify themselves.
8. School superintendents should consider sending out
questionnaires to staff members from time to time
asking for their opinions on a given school subject or
problem.
9. School district administrators should contact teachers
regularly for new ideas they might use in reaching the
publics.
16. Boards of Education and district superintendents should
hold their regular meetings in different parts of the city
to give more people the opportunity to attend and ask
questions.
29. Districts should make every effort to have formal and
semiformal information printed professionally, even
thougi the cost is higher, if the m aterial is prim arily
for public information.
37. School districts should mail bulletins and other parent
information directly to the homes, rather than rely on
student delivery or mass media.
44. School district adm inistrators should contact local
merchants with the request that they include brief
references to school activities, elections, and other
appropriate school functions in their advertising,
rather than seek private funds to publish large ads to
promote an election.
48. School district adm inistrators should report to the
Board of Education, and to the community, the liabilities
and problems of the district as well as the goals achieved
to prevent an ouster move by a disillusioned public when
they become aware that a problem exists.
Ten marks of "Good” and/or "Outstanding” and two at the
"Weak" or below level resulted in a rating of 83 per cent. Seven
techniques were judged by the panelists to attain this level of
149
acceptance. They were:
2. School districts should be encouraged to make an
inexpensive, professional quality film of the activities
to be shown to civic groups.
6. School districts could develop sim ilar slogans, use
them during part of the school year, and call attention
to a particular part of the schools.
15. D istrict superintendents or principals should write
short notes to families entering or leaving the district
or school.
22. School districts should be encouraged to print brochures
and/or send out news releases concerning honors and
achievements accorded to it over the year, showing the
public how much it is getting for its tax dollar.
24. District superintendents should submit an informal
written report to the district employees, utilizing
m aterial taken from the annual report to the community,
stressing the ’'we" approach.
31. School districts should develop sim ilar film and slide
m aterials to place in local store windows, bank foyers,
and other heavily-trafficked areas to give school infor
mation.
41. School district administrators should encourage the
adoption of an appropriate slogan with which to identify
the district.
Three techniques gained the acceptance level of 75 per cent
agreement as rated by the specialists. The ideas were:
3. It would benefit the schools, the community, and the
administration if each administrator would substitute
three or four days each year to teach at various levels
within his school or district, using lesson plans pro
vided by the regular teacher.
150
5. Teachers could improve their image in the community
by sponsoring such a SOME Day program and inviting
other groups in the community to join them.
39. School district administrators should develop sim ilar
kits for distribution at the opening of school term s, to
introduce bond and tax needs, and other significant
actions.
Summary of rejected techniques
Rejected techniques were those which were rated by 75 per
cent or more of the panelists as "Weak" or "Should Not Be Used." No
technique was adjudged by 100 per cent of the panel as being without
some merit. However, 75 per cent or more of the jury members
rated these techniques as "Weak" or "Should Not Be Used."
21. Superintendents and school personnel in general should
use professional term s in their oral and written contact
with the various publics.
26. A school district having public relations problems should
employ a professional public relations agency or indi
vidual on contract to help overcome the difficulty.
28. School districts, or their employee organizations,
should have their slogan or name printed on name
badges and distributed free of charge to local clubs and
organizations to promote education, bond issues, and
any relevant activity.
30. School districts should place several classified ads in
newspapers to promote bond and tax campaigns, hot
lunch programs, and other appropriate school activities.
35. School district administrators should consider launching
bond and tax elections with a contest for an appropriate
slogan which could be used in all election materials
promoting the vote.
151
38. To initiate bond and tax election campaigns or school
board races, private citizens should be encouraged to
give cocktail parties inviting local influential people as
guests to create an interest in the events.
Summary of the Chapter
It was the purpose of this chapter to present in narrative and
tabular form responses of twelve public relations specialists to fifty
communication techniques gleaned from the commercial literature.
The public relations specialists were nominated by Dr. Roy
K. Wilson, Secretary-Treasurer of the National School Public
Relations Association. Represented on the panel were seven school
district-level public relations specialists, a college public relations
director, a National School Boards Association staff member, a
professor of education specializing in public relations, a state educa
tion association staff member, and a state education department
communications specialist.
All members of the panel completed the questionnaire, and
their responses were given in tabular form. These responses were
reported along with the discussion of each question, giving the per
centage of specialists rating each technique as "Outstanding,"
"Good," "Weak," or "Should Not Be Used," and also noting when the
panel member did not respond.
152
The purpose of the narrative form was to summarize the
responses to each statement and to give the comments which tended
to amplify or explain the panelists* reasons for particular ratings.
As stated in this chapter, the acceptability level was
established at 75 per cent, and twenty-eight techniques attained that
degree of acceptance, in the opinion of the panelists. Of these, ten
were rated as "Outstanding" or "Good" by 100 per cent of the panel
members. Eight more were given this rating by 92 per cent of the
jury. Seven techniques were rated by 83 per cent of the panelists at
these upper levels, and three ideas were accepted at the 75 per cent
level.
Techniques which were rated as "Weak" or "Should Not Be
Used" by 75 per cent of the jury were reported. Six of the fifty
items in the questionnaire were rejected in this manner. No item
was rated by all members as "Should Not Be Used."
Several responses indicated totals of 99 per cent or 101
per cent. These totals are the result of rounding off 8.5 per cent
to 8 per cent to maintain consistency throughout the responses.
CHAPTER V
RESPONSES TO THE SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL
PUBLIC RELATIONS TECHNIQUES
Introduction
The identification of successful educational public relations
techniques and methods was the second objective of this study. In
the preceding chapter, specialists in the educational field responded
to a series of items gleaned from the commercial literature and
adapted to educational utilization. This chapter is devoted to the
responses of educators who were asked to identify the most success
ful communication techniques and methods they had used or wit
nessed between 1963 and 1965.
The selection of an appropriate number of educators from
whom this information would be requested was the subject of
several discussions with professors of educational administration,
fellow graduate students, and Dr. RoyK. Wilson, Secretary-
Treasurer of the National School Public Relations Association.
After several possible references and rosters were
153
154
considered, it was decided that the most representative group of
public relations-oriented educators would be the presidents of the
twenty-five chapters of the NSPRA. Twenty-one states were repre
sented. Geographically, all parts of the country were included in
the survey.
Procedure
The secretary-treasurer of NSPRA was contacted for the
current mailing list of chapter presidents. A double postal card
was sent to each officer. It presented a brief outline of the study,
cited the association endorsement, and requested the name of the
officer to whom the instrument would be sent.
Of the twenty-five chapters contacted, nineteen officers
agreed to complete the survey. Of that number, fifteen offered
their personal assistance, and four nominated others within their
chapter.
Each of the nineteen who responded to the postal card
request received a letter of explanation, a letter of endorsement
from Dr. Roy K. Wilson of NSPRA, the survey instrument, and a
return envelope.
The survey requested a brief description of the most
successful public relations technique the officer had used or wit
nessed since January, 1963, in each of three areas. The fields
155
were curriculum, business functions, and personnel.
The lower half of the survey instrument requested the re
porting of a technique in each area which had backfired or failed,
and which the respondent would not recommend using again.
Further attempts were made to enlist the aid of the six <
chapter presidents who had failed to respond to the postal card re
quest. Endorsement letters, full details of the survey, and the
instrument were sent to the chapter officers. There was no re s
ponse from any of the six leaders.
Seventeen of the nineteen chapter officers, or 89 per cent,
returned the instrument within a few weeks. Follow-up letters
failed to bring response from the remaining two officers.
Professional positions of the respondents
Chapter presidents are nominated and elected by their
chapter members. In addition to his chapter duties, each has a
responsible position in his profession. Among the professional
positions of the respondents were district superintendents, assistant
superintendents, professors or associate professors of education,
administrative assistants, publications directors, school-commu
nity relations directors, building principals, and directors of public
relations.
!
156
Responses to the Survey
Curriculum
A midwestern superintendent reported that he gave a
systematic presentation of curriculum materials in his weekly
bulletin. His district made a determined effort to cover all aspects
of the curriculum, quoted written material from classrooms, listed
subjects taught at several levels, and reported current enrollment
figures. He also included descriptions of new classes being taught
at all levels. He reported that the establishment of night school
classes for dropouts, in which the students could ultimately earn
a diploma, had been particularly well received.
The public relations director in an eastern school district
changed the format of their newsletter from a staid, dull, and text-
filled publication to one which appeared to interest the patrons. The
cover now consists of a full page picture of a student activity,
either curricular or extracurricular, with a small reproduction on
the second page and the story surrounding it. He stated that the
new format tended to encourage the reader to turn the page.
A brochure aimed at the goals and objectives, and how the
district attempted to attain them, was the most successful public
relations effort of an Indiana school district.
157
A northern California assistant superintendent reported
that his district turned to the teachers in seeking questions parents
were asking about the curriculum. Reported by the teachers from
their parent-conference contacts, the questions became the nucleus
of a district-wide effort in communication. Parent organizations
planned their programs around these areas of uncertainty, service
club speakers from the school district utilized these topics, and
visual aids were made by district personnel to supplement verbal
presentations. A series of "Know Your Schools" articles was pre
pared for the newspaper, and a night class at the high school was
developed on the new mathematics.
Photographs of parts of the instructional program were
printed in the local newspaper and helped to orient the new parents
in the community. Once the school year was underway, a more
complete and detailed review of the curriculum of the local schools
was described in district publications. Almost as an afterthought,
this report from the director of informational services in a western
state mentioned that, in their opinion, parent conferences on a
regularly-scheduled basis were the best public relations technique.
Parent and student conferences were scheduled with
counselors and administrators each summer as the students pre
pared to enter their sophomore year. The director of community
158
services stated that the parents and students in this large north
western community were enthusiastic about the program of curricu-
lum-orientation.
The school-community relations director of a midwestern
city school district recommended taking 35mm slide pictures of the
current kindergarten classes and their class activities. At the
close of the school year the pictures were used in the orientation
program for the incoming parents and children. It was reported
that the parents and children were particularly attentive and
enjoyed seeing pictures of neighbor children in the school setting.
Another use of 35mm slide pictures was reported by the
director of the office of information in a large eastern city. Slide
photographs were taken of children studying any curriculum area.
Teachers with some knowledge of photography were encouraged to
take the pictures, although an audio-visual specialist helped if this
was not possible. The completed slides were shown to parent
groups in explanation of the curriculum or any special part of the
school day. Specialists who presented the slide program were
available to answer questions which arose.
The assistant superintendent of a large northwestern city
district praised the benefits of citizen participation on a curriculum
council. He cited particularly the recent development of a teachers'
159
guide to a unit of study on "Giving. " He also stated that report
card inserts describing or explaining the curriculum were often
used.
Staff involvement in the study of the modern mathematics
influence in curriculum led to grade level discussions of the optimum
manner in which the subject could be introduced. After achieving
teacher-support, presentations were made to parent groups for
their reactions to the proposed changes. The committee of staff
m embers, with the understanding and support of the community,
followed with a recommendation to the administration and to the
Board of Education. As a result the implementation of a modern
mathematics curriculum was made easily and well in this small
New England town.
A midwestern superintendent described the use of com
munity members in planning a work-experience program for slow
learners at their senior high school. Labor leaders, businessmen,
and other interested citizens worked in the development of a re a l
istic program and served as recru iters seeking employment
opportunities for the high school students.
An Ohio community relations chairman reported an effec
tive parent-organization study series. Each of the twenty-seven
parent-teacher groups designated an education committee which met
160
four times each year. The total committee studies one major
curriculum area at each meeting. Within the past three years the
total elementary and high school curriculum has been reviewed.
The 1964-65 study sessions were devoted to new subjects and pro
cedures including the Initial Teaching Alphabet, Inquiry Training,
Modern Mathematics, and a revitalized vocational education pro
gram . Representatives reported to their own groups, often used
the topics for their own study sessions, and appeared to enjoy the
prestige which they felt as members of a select "in" group.
English, Social Studies, Journalism, and Speech were
discussed in a presentation called 'T he Living Textbook, " and
published in a midwestern newspaper over a period of months.
Teachers wrote copy designed to improve purposeful reading, in
crease listening abilities, do critical thinking, develop openminded
ness, and teach other important skills which all citizens need.
Billed as a 'Teaching program prepared by teachers for teachers, "
the program was apparently very successful with the lay public as
well as with the professional staff.
A school principal in a southeastern state described
changes made in the junior high school curriculum as the need be
came known through study by the staff. Intensive examination of
the developmental needs of junior high school children and the
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curriculum being offered to meet those needs resulted in vast
changes recommended by the staff. The six-period day became
seven, study hall was eliminated, remedial reading was initiated,
special groupings were created, and the entire plan was presented
to the parent-teacher organization where it was received enthusi
astically.
A series of "Learn by Doing" sessions with parents learn
ing about and working modern mathematics problems was used by
the staff in a Texas school district to introduce the new concepts
in this discipline. The superintendent reported that this simple,
yet effective, technique relieved many parental anxieties which
could have stifled the introduction of modern mathematics.
A Michigan information specialist described his district's
move from the traditional curriculum toward a more dynamic
approach through the use of a parents' or citizens' advisory com
mittee. A broad study of the curriculum made the community
aware of the opportunities being missed in holding to the traditional
line. Voters approved tax levies which enabled the district to
become more experimental in nature and provided funds for the
employment of research personnel to evaluate the experimental
programs.
162
Unsuccessful techniques in curriculum
Less than half of the respondents included reports of tech
niques which failed. In keeping with the promise made that those
reporting failing ideas would not be identified, the following tech
niques were given.
In stating that the adult education program carries great
public relations potential, one respondent mentioned that the staffing
of these classes must be done with careful awareness of public
relations. The community appears to be particularly aware of the
caliber of instruction in the adult education program, and it should
be staffed with thoughtful, understanding, and empathetic teachers.
Summer school teachers are judged with the same yardstick and
were mentioned by this adm inistrator.
A newspaper column written about curriculum by the
superintendent failed prim arily because he insisted on using
language which was "professionally correct. " Later columns
written in the language of the reader were well accepted.
A lay committee appointed by the Board of Education with
the broad challenge to study the curriculum degenerated into an
evaluation of teachers. One conclusion reported to the board was
that teachers could be evaluated on the basis of student success.
The attempt to put flexible-scheduling into effect at a high
163
school met with failure when it became apparent to the community
that no one had been sufficiently prepared for such a move.
Fancy brochures which were discussed on the basis of
their appearance and cost rather than on the m erit of their contents
not only missed the desired objective but created additional pro
blems for one adm inistrator. He suggested that the type of com
munity should dictate the sophistication of the published literature.
The desire by one adm inistrator to give elementary and
high school teachers an opportunity to meet and discuss mutual
problems gave each an opening to criticize the other. High school
teachers were openly critical of elementary teachers for allowing
poorly-prepared students to graduate from the elementary schools.
Elementary teachers rebutted by criticizing the high school
personnel for allowing their fine students to deteriorate once they
entered the secondary schools.
Administrators in one district were unanimous in their be
lief that lay citizens have no place in curriculum evaluation sessions
or on committees. It was reported that the concern was not that
the lay citizens were unbending in their requests, but that recom
mendations not heeded became poor public relations experiences.
Too much freedom given to the teacher to use or discard
textbooks, methods, and teaching aids created serious community
164
problems for one administrator. He stressed the need for adequate
two-way communication between the administration and the in
structional staff to prevent sim ilar instances in the future.
Business functions
In attempting to explain the meaning of "Business Func
tions, " the examples of tax and bond elections, transportation,
cafeteria services, and reports were given. One administrator
in a midwestern community took exception to the distinction drawn
between business functions and other aspects of the school. He
stated that tax money is used basically for instruction and con
struction. He asserted that their tax and bond campaigns are
designed to improve instruction and personnel, and to provide good,
safe school buildings. In short, voters approve issues for the
benefit of children.
A southeastern school principal reported that their most
successful tax elections were helped by the establishment of a
"telephone tree" to get out the 'Y es" vote. He also stated that
people who complained about the quality of the food or service in
the cafeteria were invited for lunch as his guests.
An Indiana administrator stated that the district's annual
transportation report became more-readily understood by the
165
publics when the cost per pupil per day was the focal point. In
previous years total annual costs were given to describe the finan
cial picture of the department. Other factors in the report included
the number of buses as well as the total number of children trans
ported.
A year-round speakers' bureau proved to be very success
ful in an Ohio city. Averaging one presentation per day throughout
the school year, the bureau supplied service clubs, civic, fraternal,
and church groups with presentations on many subjects. This
activity became a natural opportunity for speakers explaining
financial needs as tax elections were planned.
Visual aids supplemented the verbal presentations of Board
of Education members who carried the major part of the campaign
for increased taxes. Texas voters appeared to accept the facts
given by an elected layman over those provided by an administrator,
and the bond issue was the largest ever passed. It also enjoyed a
five-to-one margin of positive votes.
One northern California assistant superintendent organized
a group of local "prestige" business and professional men who
helped to develop a "Fact Book" of statistical information about an
approaching tax, bond, and state aid election campaign. Each
member had his own binder and other copies were made for the
166
press and key campaign chairmen. Through this preparation of
district data all questions received statistically-identical answers.
Convincing the local populace that it would be cheaper to
build two schools at the same time became the goal of an eastern
school board and the director of information. An intensive cam
paign of speeches before civic groups, the distribution of pamphlets
giving facts and figures, and the preparation of visual materials
offering cost comparisons to town meetings were successful in
eliciting a unanimous vote for two buildings.
Budget hearings were virtually unattended in an eastern
community until a school principal began filming highlights of the
school year. He included all children in one scene or another,
and the meeting was announced as an opportunity for parents to see
their children at work. As he narrated the presentation, the
principal pointed out budget implications. The technique was so
successful that a second showing was given to accommodate all who
wanted to see the film.
A Colorado information director reported that the use of
overhead projections with printed copies of the same material for
the audience members to take with them was the most successful
technique devised for passing bond and tax elections. He added
that the best personal contact came from staff members who called
167
people they knew in the community to encourage their support.
Front page features in the local newspaper telling of school
needs resulted in overwhelming support for an Oklahoma bond issue
for building improvement. The public relations director offered
detailed information on school needs, and was instrumental in
helping the editor to see the story value.
An Illinois communications specialist organized the bond
referendum campaign by involving every identifiable group in the
city with the effort. Parents' groups, citizens' committees,
ministerial associations, labor unions, and other similar organi-
zations have detailed information on the needs of the schools. All
mass media were included, and letters to the editor in support of
the referendum were solicited for use during the last week of die
campaign from parents, grandparents, businessmen, and those
representing the "power structure."
Small group and large community meetings were reported
by an eastern superintendent as being instrumental in informing
the public about bond and tax proposals. Newspaper publicity
was sought and brochures explaining the issues were mailed to
every home in the community as a climax to the campaign.
A school administrator in a large western city reported
several techniques which have helped in successful campaigns.
168
"Vote Yes For Schools" signs began appearing all over town, giving
the ground-swell impression. Tags reminding parents to vote were
sent home with the children on election day. Television and radio
documentaries about the school needs and spot announcements in
creased interest in school elections. Material for media editorials
was supplied and used. Personalized postal cards urging support
of the election were sent by parent groups and teachers to their
acquaintances. Timing the campaign to build to a climax on
election eve was very important, and mass meetings in which
campaign literature was distributed and explained helped to generate
enthusiasm in the working crews.
A district superintendent in Ohio signed personal letters
to every one of 5,050 adults in the community to gain support for
the most recent election. Each letter was typed individually,
addressed to the recipient, and mailed "First Class, " virtually
assuring that the letter would be opened and read.
Weekly bulletins to every home in the community on various
subjects enabled the superintendent to anticipate tax and bond
elections and prepare the community well in advance. In this
manner, the townspeople have been apprised of growing school
needs months or years before they are asked to vote on an issue.
The Minnesota superintendent reported that the people of his com
169
munity believed themselves to be well-informed on school m atters.
Unsuccessful techniques in business
functions
Taking the public for granted was the analysis given for
one lost tax campaign. Brochures were distributed without planning
for person-to-person explanations, and the uninformed publics
refused to support the issue.
A dedication brochure distributed at the opening of a new
high school included more cost details than the publics could
assimilate at one time. Although the piece was prepared as a
supportive instrument, it resulted in creating second-thoughts in
the parents about the wisdom of having approved the construction.
In an attempt to present both sides of the question of
increased state financial aid, a member of the opposition was in
vited to join the panel of speakers in a large community. Once he
had the floor, he succeeded in creating enough questions on a
minor point that the total effect was a confusion of the issue rather
than giving clarification to the voters. As a committee member,
he had status that he would not have had in voicing his disagreement
as an individual.
Advance warning was not given to the residents that taxes
would increase as a result of new programs adopted by the Board
170
of Education. When tax bills arrived, the local citizens complained
very vocally, creating serious public relations problems for the
school district.
Every registered voter was contacted by neighborhood
workers in one community after their names and addresses had
been taken from voter registration lists and placed on file cards.
The technique alerted every "No” voter in the community, and the
issue failed. Subsequent campaigns centered on the determination
of voters who tended to be more favorable to school issues.
A meeting which was announced as a budget hearing
featuring the top administrative officers of the school district was
a complete failure. Parents appeared to be interested in school
activities when their children were more directly affected. Another
district reported a sim ilar experience in the staff's attempt to
interest people in a statistical review of the schools.
General resistance from the publics and the staff was
the result when school principals attempted to increase the school
cafeteria lunch count.
The tendency to feature low teacher salaries and in
adequate buildings in seeking tax increases has resulted in the loss
of many elections. Studies now indicate that the deprivation of the
child as a result of low salaries and poor buildings should be the
171
significant emphasis in future campaigns in this state.
Bumper stickers and tags were blamed for the defeat of
one tax election. The complaints were that they gave the appearance
of being too political, and schools should be above that level. The
second reason given was that the stickers left marks on the cars.
Another tax election loss was blamed on the school
administration for failing to involve enough of the community in the
planning. Others believed that the administration was smug about
the outcome, and did not bother to adequately inform the community
of the school needs.
The reluctance of the Board of Education to appoint
advisory committees created some difficult public relations pro
blems for one district. Bonds to build two schools were defeated
when the community apparently wanted the opportunity to vote on
them as separate issues.
Poor attendance at coffee hours caused this to be dropped
as a technique of informing small groups of voters in one com
munity. Endorsements from groups and individuals were discon
tinued as an ineffective method of swaying public opinion. In
another community endorsements requested of some civic groups
caused personal em barrassm ent to some of the members and other
organizations were prohibited by charter from endorsing any issue.
172
Personnel
An annual board-staff buffet dinner at the home of a Board
of Education member one week after the opening of the school year
was a rapport-building technique given by a midwestern superin
tendent. All staff members were invited to this annual function
hosted by the Board of Education.
A California assistant superintendent reported that photo
graphs of new teachers working with their children were taken
and copies sent to the placement officers of their universities.
Appreciation for the fine education given to the teacher was in
cluded in a cover letter. Suggestions were made that perhaps the
school paper would like to include the picture in a future edition.
The same pictures and copy were sent also to the teacher's home
town newspapers.
Recruitment m aterials which included salary schedules
for the ensuing three years were considered a public relations
asset with the staff. The administrative assistant in the northern
state reported that the salary schedule adoption period coincides
with the length of time the extra millage is voted by the community.
He stated that this practice had appealed particularly to good
prospective candidates.
A large school district in the northwest prepared a
173
brochure to be given to prospective candidates interviewed at
colleges and universities. The brochure gave a broad coverage of
the school district services and teaching conditions, professional
opportunities, community support, and cultural activities. A
sim ilar brochure which included the philosophy and objectives of
the district was developed in a Texas district for recruitm ent.
A small fourfold "fact sheet" told the story of an Indiana
school district. The administrative assistant reported that it was
distributed to prospective teachers, patrons, and visitors with
particularly good success.
A public relations handbook was developed for the entire
staff of an Ohio school district. Included in "This is a Family
Affair" were portions aimed at both the certificated and classified
members of the staff. After initial distribution to the entire em
ployee group, it was given to new employees during orientation
proceedings.
Surveys of teachers new to this eastern district indicated
that the personal approach and interest shown in their applications
were among the strongest reasons for accepting contracts. Color
ful, informative brochures were given to each potential applicant
at college campuses by the assistant superintendents as they made
their recruiting trips through the midwest. Once signed to a
174
contract, the future staff members received a continual flow of
information regarding their status, plans for the coming year, and
other pertinent and informative data.
Another brochure, designed particularly away from the
Chamber of Commerce approach, was the most effective piece of
communications material developed in this western state. The
informational services director reported that the most successful
recruitm ent technique for them was the verbal recommendation
given by current staff members to prospective applicants.
Descriptive brochures were mailed to all potential candi
dates and state universities for display in recruiting teachers for
an Illinois school district. It was also reported that the d istrict's
in-service education program gave professional credit for
teachers who completed the program.
Colorful brochures introduced teachers to the school
district in a western city. Teachers who accepted positions were
taken on a complete tour of the city, provided a housing service,
and participated in a business-education day annually.
One school district in a midwestern state invited local
business and professional leaders in the community to visit the
schools once each month to talk about school problems with the
teachers. Club presidents reported their discussions to their
175
members and kept the community informed of the schools' educa
tional needs.
An Ohio adm inistrator reported that his district gave pro
fessional credit for in-service education courses completed by the
teachers. College professors designed and taught the classes
requested by the teachers to serve local needs.
Classes were dism issed at noon and teachers participated
in prim ary and intermediate sections of Modern Mathematics
workshops conducted by outside consultants in an eastern school
district. Parent groups served coffee during the midafternoon
break, and the program was well-received by the staff.
In-service education program s were preceded by a com
plete study of their southern community by the school staff to dis
cover needs which had gone unnoticed by the teachers. Curriculum
guides produced following the community study reflected more
completely the needs of children.
Unsuccessful personnel techniques
One superintendent reported that teachers were p arti
cularly sensitive during salary discussion periods. He stated that
he has learned to refrain from putting out any information regard
ing salaries to the newspapers or through his own bulletins.
Curriculum decisions without discussing die contemplated
176
actions with teachers resulted in serious morale problems for one
superintendent. After a lengthy series of in-service education
meetings was planned and poorly attended, the curriculum director
learned that another subject would have been preferred to the one he
chose. The district has corrected this since that time by organizing
a curriculum council with representatives from each school.
Too many "sit and listen" meetings during the orientation
program were morale-breakers for new teachers in one district.
A survey of new teachers concerning the improvement of recruit
ment practices brought this criticism to the attention of the admin
istration.
One district invited a news reporter to attend a teacher-
sponsored banquet for Board of Education members. The resultant
"slanted" news article created several personnel problems where
none had existed before.
A brochure picturing all of the new school buildings was
so enticing to new teachers that all applicants wanted to be assigned
to the new facilities.
Newspaper advertising for teachers in one community
resulted in many hours spent interviewing candidates who would
not have been invited for interviews by recruiting teams who would
have been more selective.
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The most serious recruiting problems faced in one district
involved the poor selection of recruiters. F irst contacts with
prospective candidates must be made by recruiters who are friendly,
sincere, and genuinely interested in these people.
An in-service education program which failed completely
involved all prim ary through high school teachers viewing films
on guidance during the later afternoon. Little discussion followed
the presentations, and the many hours involved, with too little
learning as an outcome, were apparently resented by virtually all
staff members.
Summary of the Chapter
The purpose of Chapter V was to report the responses to
the survey of educational public relations techniques as given by
the chapter presidents. These officers were selected as repre
sentative of school personnel interested in or responsible for public
relations activities for schools.
The twenty-five chapter officers were requested to select
the most outstanding communications techniques they had used or
witnessed between January, 1963, and April, 1965, in the areas of
curriculum, business functions, and personnel. The instrument
also provided an opportunity for these officers to include the
178
technique in each field which failed and should not be used again.
Of the twenty-five chapters of the NSPRA active in 1964,
nineteen officers agreed to participate in the survey. Seventeen
actually responded, for a return of 89 per cent. Among the chapter
officers were district superintendents, assistant superintendents,
professors and associate professors of education, administrative
assistants, publications directors, school-community relations
directors, building principals, and directors of public relations.
Among the leading communications techniques reported
by the officers were brochures or other printed m atter. News
letters played an important role in keeping publics informed. The
use of photography in these brochures is apparently increasing.
Interesting form ats are replacing the staid publications formerly
in use.
Visual aids were reported as being used more extensively
with speakers in civic m eetings, parent groups, and other activities
in which the school has an opportunity to tell its story. Slide
photographs and 8mm film s were being used at school functions to
apprise parents of the work of their children.
Face to face communications were stressed in several
re p o rts. Meetings with the staff for improvement of the curriculum
and teachers talking with businessmen to tell the school needs were
179
among the techniques reported.
The newspapers continued to play an important role in
school communication program s, but other media were being
utilized more completely by public relations-minded adm inistrators.
Personal contact in recruitm ent appeared to be the most
successful method utilized by district personnel. Brochures which
gave complete information about the schools and community were
welcomed by new teachers, and services provided by the district
to make them more comfortable ranked high with teachers accepting
their first contracts.
Fewer unsuccessful techniques were submitted by the
chapter officers. The prim ary reason for failure appeared to be
a breakdown in communications rather than a complete lack of
knowledge in a given area. This lack of communication ranged from
the district superintendent whose weekly column in the newspaper
failed because he insisted on using "professionally correct"
language to the curriculum director who planned a complete in-
service education program without consulting the teachers who were
expected to benefit from it. It appeared that breaks in the lines of
communication were responsible for the most serious problems
reported.
CHAPTER VI
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
I
Summary
Restatement of the problem
Most school adm inistrators and virtually all authors of
school administration texts agree that public relations is an im
portant aspect of education today. Increasing public interest in
its schools tends to indicate to school boards and adm inistrators
that some type of public relations program should be organized
to give the public information it desires.
Few graduate schools require public relations courses
for school adm inistrators. Although various administration courses
often provide an overview of public relations requirem ents, there
is little opportunity to present specific techniques with which the
prospective adm inistrators may tell the school story successfully.
Most adm inistrators, therefore, are expected to develop effective
community-relations programs without the benefit of having studied
• appropriate techniques.
180
181
It was the purpose of this study to seek and report the most
successful public relations techniques currently used by public
school administrators throughout the United States.
It was also the purpose of this study to find those tech
niques which, on the basis of adm inistrators' experiences, should
not be used.
A third purpose of the study was to seek an untapped
source of possible community-relations techniques in which new
ideas may be found . . . the field of commercial public relations.
As a multimillion dollar industry, public relations companies
employ large staffs to develop new methods and techniques by which
products and services may be promoted. It is possible that some
of these successful commercial techniques could be utilized by
school personnel to increase the public knowledge of its schools.
Assumptions
In any study, certain assumptions must be made which
will perm it the development of appropriate procedures. For this
study, the assumptions were:
1. The community is interested in its schools and will
continue to demand information about them.
2. Many of the public relations problems in private
business and education are sim ilar.
182
3. The chapter presidents of the NSPRA are a repre
sentative sample of qualified public relations special
ists in education in the United States.
4. The literature of commercial public relations is
sufficient in scope to reveal many and varied tech
niques of the profession.
5. There is a real need to uncover additional public
relations techniques witlr which education can create
a better understanding of its current needs and
objectives.
6. The jury members nominated by the executive secre
tary of the NSPRA are a representative sample of
outstanding public relations specialists.
Objectives
The objectives of this research were:
1. To seek commercial public relations techniques which
would be appropriate in educational public relations;
2. To establish that a jury of educational specialists
can adapt the identified commercial techniques to
educational purposes;
3. To identify the most successful and least successful
183
public relations techniques witnessed or utilized
by NSPRA chapter presidents; and
4. To develop a series of effective public relations tech
niques which could be utilized by school personnel to
interpret the total school program to the community.
The Procedure
Basic to this study was a thorough research of current
literature in public relations. The study was planned as a com
bination of library research with a questionnaire and a survey of
present practices in selected areas throughout the United States.
The purpose of the library research was twofold: (1) to
locate and report successful practices in the educational public
relations literature, and (2) to research the commercial public
relations field for possible techniques which could be used in
education.
The steps taken in the development of this study were
(1) establishment of the purpose, (2) search of the literature,
(3) planning and development of the questionnaire, (4) developing
the format of the survey instrument, (5) gaining the endorsement
of the NSPRA, (6) selection of the jury, (7) identification of the
survey respondents, (8) distribution of the questionnaire and the
survey, (9) tabulation of the questionnaire and study of the
184
survey, and (10) analysis of the findings.
The purpose of the study was defined following several dis
cussions of the idea with Dr. D. Lloyd Nelson, Chairman of the
Committee on Studies.
Search of the literature followed the usual pattern in
checking card catalogs, indexes to periodical literature and bibliog
raphies, and included discussions with specialists in the commercial
public relations and advertising professions. Educational public
relations techniques were found primarily in the texts by educa
tional specialists. Commercial methods were reported basically
in the periodical literature of the business professions.
The questionnaire was developed from public relations
techniques reported as successful in the commercial field.
In seeking the current successful educational public
relations techniques, a survey instrument was developed which
requested the respondent to relate the most successful methods he
had utilized or witnessed between January, 1963, and April, 1965,
in the areas of curriculum, business functions, and personnel.
The instrument also provided space for the inclusion of techniques
which had failed and would not be employed again.
The study was discussed personally with Dr. Roy K.
Wilson, Secretary-Treasurer of the National School Public
185
Relations Association. He was most helpful and assisted with the
identification of appropriate educators for the reaction panel and
the selection of the specialists who would be a representative sam
ple of knowledgeable public relations personnel. He agreed to
investigate endorsement possibilities with the board of directors
of NSPRA, and ultimately succeeded in gaining that endorsement
for this study.
The secretary-treasurer of NSPRA submitted the names
of twelve nationally-recognized specialists who were to become
members of the jury. He also submitted the names of the twenty-
five presidents of NSPRA chapters located in twenty-one states.
This group was invited to respond to the survey of current educa
tional techniques.
Endorsement letters were sent to each member of the
jury and to the chapter presidents by Dr. Roy K. Wilson, indicating
the national organization's interest in the results of this study. At
the same time, the jury and the officers received the instruments,
letters of explanation, and return envelopes for their convenience.
The responses of the jury members to the commercial
techniques were tabulated and percentages were compiled indicating
the degree of acceptance or rejection of each technique.
The survey responses were organized in general areas
and summarized for the findings.
186
Summary of the Findings
Findings from the educational
literature
A search of the educational literature of public relations
from the beginnings of American education to the present revealed
an evolutionary process not unlike the development of American
education to its current status. The findings were:
1. American education had its beginnings in the hearts
and minds of the English refugees who sought religious
freedom in Europe and established church-related
schools following Martin Luther's declaration of the
Ninety-Five Theses.
2. Communications in the colonies between the school and
the community were direct and continuous.
3. The compulsory education law of 1642, and the 1647
"Old Deluder Satan Act, " were the first steps taken
which led to the involvement of people in the schools
in which many had little direct interest or association.
4. Horace Mann was among the first to go directly to
the people agitating for legislative action to imple
ment school reform s.
187
5. The puhlic press began taking a greater interest in
reporting school activities in the late nineteenth
century.
6. The urbanization of schools early in the twentieth
century brought with this move increased parental
demands for information about the schools.
7. The casual approach to school-home communications
changed rapidly during the 1930s as school programs
faltered from budget reductions made by an unin
formed public, and Boards of Education began adopt
ing policies to formalize public relations objectives.
8. By the late 1940s, the educational literature was be
ginning to report that the teacher was the most im
portant public relations contact the schools employed.
9. Several authors agreed that public relations programs
must be continuous, honest, inclusive, understand
able, dignified, comprehensive, and sensitive to the
community.
10. Various authors reported that the mass media were
adaptable to telling the school story in an interesting
and effective manner.
11. Two-way communication between the publics and the
schools was cited as the most effective method of
communicating the school story. Specifically
mentioned by many authors was the need for this
face-to-face meeting between the schools and the
parents, among school staffs, and between the school
and the teacher and others connected with the schools.
12. The child and his relationship to the school were the
center of public relations activities recommended by
the authors. The activities of the teachers, adm inis
trato rs, and board members were the subjects of
interest to the parents only on infrequent occasions.
Findings from the commercial
literature
Commercial public relations is a product of the twentieth
century. The literature was found predominantly, however, in
publications since the mid- 1930s. The search of the com m ercial
literature revealed these findings:
1. The first successful public relations consultant
service was based on the humanizing of business and
the belief that only those program s which had the
support of top management should be undertaken.
2. World War U, and the resultant needs for national
189
commitment, witnessed the maturing of public re la
tions as a profession.
3. Public relations has been the major subject for dis
cussion at most business conventions since the close
of World War II.
4. -Persuasion plays a major role in the manipulation of
public opinion.
5. The selection of the media follows decisions on what
to say, to whom it should be said, and how it should
be said.
6. Public relations is the responsibility of every employee
in every department of every organization.
7. The image of an organization is built on good per
formance skillfully publicized.
8. Public interest may be identified through an analysis
of the subjects currently reported in the popular
magazines.
9. Public relations is prim arily the function of manage
ment.
Findings from the questionnaire
The following techniques were found to be acceptable to
190
75 per cent or more of the educational public relations specialists.
1. A weekly radio program in which the district super
intendent interviewed classified or certificated
personnel.
2. A letter of welcome giving pertinent school infor
mation and written by the superintendent and dis
tributed to new residents through the Chamber of
Commerce or other appropriate source.
3. A file of feature articles developed by the district
to be released during quiet news periods.
4. Reports on school m atters distributed to the commu
nity on a regularly-scheduled basis.
5. Superintendents arranged to exchange copies of
printed m aterials for public information with selected
school districts.
6. Differing m aterials on the sam e subjects developed
for distribution to the various publics to assure
effective communication.
7. The subject m atter of newsletters and bulletins to the
publics repeated often enough to overcome the mobility
factor of the community and to reach the new parents.
8. Inform the community of the graduate level of its
191
teaching and administrative staff.
9. Recruitment brochures on the availability of graduate
work in or near the community, the educational level
of the staff, and the incentives offered for further
graduate work.
10. Programs presented to civic and fraternal organiza
tions by school personnel who have developed interests
outside of their professional lives.
11. Trademarks or symbols developed and used by school
districts to identify themselves.
12. Opinions of the teaching staff sought by the adminis
tration on major or minor problems facing the school
district.
13. Occasional contacts with the teaching staff by the
administration seeking ideas on how the school story
might better be told.
14. Regular board meetings held in various parts of the
city.
15. Public information m aterials printed professionally.
16. Public information m aterials mailed to the homes
rather than relying on student delivery.
17. Local merchants supported school activities by
192
including appropriate information in their regular
advertising space.
18. Regularly-inform the public of the problems and
liabilities of the district as well as the goals achieved.
19. Make inexpensive, good quality films of school
activities and show to civic groups.
20. Develop appropriate slogans to use on all school
correspondence to acquaint the public with particular
activities or areas of the schools.
21. Short notes written by the superintendent or principal
to families entering or leaving the district or school.
22. Develop brochures citing the honors and achievements
of the schools during the year and distribute to the
parents.
23. Submit an informal annual report to the employees,
from the superintendent, stressing the "we” approach.
24. Develop film and photographic slide programs to give
school information in banks, stores, and other
heavily-trafficked areas.
25. Write and adopt an appropriate slogan identifying the
district.
26. Arrange for district administrators to substitute in
193
the classroom three or four days during the year,
using lesson plans provided by the teacher.
27. Encourage teacher organizations to sponsor one or
more worthy groups within the community and invite
other groups to join in the sponsorship or support.
28. Provide kits of information about the schools for the
press prior to the initiation of bond and tax campaigns,
board elections, and other appropriate occasions.
The following techniques were found to be unacceptable or
weak by 75 per cent or more of the educational communications
specialists. Those techniques rejected were:
1. Professional term s used by school personnel in their
communications with the public.
2. The employment of a public relations agency to help
a district overcome difficulties with its publics.
3. Free distribution of name badges with an appropriate
educational slogan for use by civic groups and
organizations.
4. Classified ads placed in newspapers to promote bond
and tax campaigns and other school activities.
5. Attempting to gain public support and interest by con
ducting a contest to find an appropriate slogan for use
194
during the campaign.
6. Giving cocktail parties for influential citizens to
introduce bond and tax campaigns or individual school
board candidates.
Findings from the survey
The following techniques were offered by the chapter
presidents of the NSPRA as the most outstanding each had utilized
or witnessed between January, 1963, and April, 1965.
1. Several administrators reported the publication of
printed materials as basic to their public relations
program. All subjects were included, although the
trend appeared to be toward subjects directly in
volving children as differentiated from fiscal policies
and Board of Education activities. The format of the
publications was important in motivating the reader
to go beyond the first page.
2. Teacher involvement in planning in-service education
activities was necessary to a successful program.
The availability of graduate work and credit for in-
service meetings created a favorable environment.
3. The organization of materials and programs which
provided insight for parents was cited as particularly
effective. Parent conferences, filmed programs of
school activities, and newspaper features describing
new curriculum trends in detail were representative
of techniques which were reported.
4. Face-to-face conferences between the parent and the
school representatives were suggested as the most
effective method of assuring parents that the individ
ual student was of prime concern to the school.
5. Community resources were cited as being a latent
opportunity for curriculum-enrichment as well as
a powerful public relations builder.
6. Groups of informed parents were considered to be
excellent public relations representatives of the
school district. Small groups became well-informed
on school policies and curriculum, and spread that
correct information at every opportunity.
7. Speakers capable of presenting a variety of subjects
to local civic and fraternal groups throughout the
year were accepted readily during tax and bond
campaign drives. Laymen speaking for the school
issues appeared to be particularly effective.
196
8. Visual aids were reported from many sources as
being among the more successful public relations
techniques.
9. The physical involvement of the community in financial
campaigns for the schools led to a greater acceptance
of the school needs by the publics.
10. The utilization of every possible medium telling the
same school story in a variety of ways was essential
in several reports.
11. Direct personal oral and written communication
whenever possible was cited as an effective approach
for informing the staff and the community.
12. Written m aterials simply presented in a warm and
friendly format created a positive first impression.
The chapter officers also reported techniques which had
been tried with unfavorable results. The following ideas and methocfe
were not recommended:
1. The selection of staff members for adult education
and summer school classes, as well as recruitm ent
teams, was reported as a particularly tenuous
responsibility of the adm inistrator. Those with whom
these staff members came in contact appeared to be
exceptionally sensitive and in need of empathetic
consideration.
Advisory committees without tight bounds within
which they must confine their study tend to lose their
effectiveness and create further problems.
Any departure from an established program must be
preceded by an appropriate study and consideration,
and followed by notification of all those affected by
the change.
Too much information at a time on one or more topics
of interest to the community may defeat the purpose
of the communication.
An exhaustive "Get Out The Vote" campaign also
reached the negative voters resulting in a lost
financial issue when a more refined technique sought
only those voters who tended to vote affirmatively.
School programs drew tremendous crowds when
students were directly affected or were part of the
program. Few parents arrived to listen to the
district administrators discuss budget and fiscal
m atters. Other reports stated that parents were
interested only when their children were directly and
198
immediately concerned.
7. Poor communications between the schools and groups
needed for support were reported by several adminis
trators.
8. Orientation meetings which required long periods of
immobility lessened their effectiveness. Meetings
without the opportunity for action and reaction were
reported as virtually worthless.
Attainment of the objectives
An evaluation of the degree to which the objectives of this
study were achieved is necessary. The following information is
based on the search of the literature and the findings from the
questionnaire and survey instrum ents.
Objective 1. --To seek commercial public relations
techniques which would be appropriate in educational
public relations.
Specialists in the educational public relations field rated
each of fifty techniques selected from the commercial literature.
Of the fifty ideas, twenty-eight received a rating of 75 per cent or
more acceptability. At least nine of the twelve specialists rated
these techniques as "Good" or "Outstanding." Six techniques were
rated as "Weak" or "Should Not Be Used" by 75 per cent or more of
the specialists. Therefore, the first objective was achieved, as
199
supported by the data.
Objective 2. —To establish that a jury of educational
specialists can adapt the identified commercial tech
niques to educational purposes.
Comments by the respondents and the high rating given to
most techniques by one or more educational public relations
specialists support this objective. As was previously reported,
six of the fifty ideas were rejected as "Weak" or "Should Not Be
U sed." None of the techniques in the instrument was rated by the
entire panel at the "Should Not Be Used" level.
Objective 3. --To identify the most successful and least
successful public relations techniques witnessed or
utilized by National School Public Relations Association
chapter presidents.
Seventeen chapter officers responded to the survey and
offered techniques which had proven to be successful or unsuccess
ful in their own experiences. The return of 89 per cent of the
survey instruments requesting this information supports this
objective.
Objective 4. --To develop a series of effective public
relations techniques which could be utilized by school
personnel to interpret the total school program to the
community.
The identification of successful public relations techniques
from the literature which supplement those reported in the
questionnaire and survey instruments provides a series of techniques
200
which could form the basis of a complete public relations program.
All media are included and suggestions for the use of those media
are detailed. The data support this objective.
Conclusions
The conclusions of this investigation are based on the
findings from the literature, an analysis of the questionnaire, and
a study of the survey responses.
1. To be effective, all public relations programs must
be continuous, honest, inclusive, understandable,
dignified, comprehensive, and sensitive to the publics.
2. The opportunity for two-way communication between
the publics and the organization seeking support must
be readily available and utilized.
3. Public relations is the practice of human relations.
4. Public relations is the function of management and
the responsibility of every employee.
5. Commercial, techniques in public relations and
advertising can be successfully adapted to educational
utilization in a majority of cases.
6. All media used successfully in commercial enter
prise can be utilized for educational purposes.
201
7. Public interest can be identified by an analysis of the
subjects currently reported in the popular magazines.
Implications
This study has attained its objectives. It has shown beyond
reasonable doubt that most commercial public relations techniques
can be adapted to educational usage. The study did not show
specifically, although it was implied, that such adaptation should be
made by competent personnel familiar with public relations and
advertising techniques. Creative persons with good communications
skill and training can envision effective methods which would not be
obvious to the unskilled.
The size and sophistication of the community plays an
important role in the types of techniques which may be attempted.
A highly-organized public relations program, utilizing every media
available, may be perfect for a large city and completely in
appropriate in a rural community. Careful perusal of the tech
niques suggested in the study will reveal the basis for a well-
rounded public communications program for cities of any size and
composition.
One line in the literature offered a hint toward determining
the style which could be utilized in preparing copy for written
202
materials in the public relations program. It stated that current
public interest could be identified by analyzing material in popular
magazines. It is possible that the same technique could be applied
to identify more than subject matter. The style and type of appeal
in advertising messages, the composition of photographs, and the
general format of publications accepted by the publics will give the
skilled educational public relations practitioner clues toward being
more effective in his approach.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are made after a careful
review of the findings of this study. It is this author's recommen
dation that:
1. All school districts evaluate their public image and
make plans to correct inadequacies which may
exist.
2. Boards of Education be encouraged to adopt public
relations policies.
3. All employees of the school district be helped to
recognize their roles in furthering the positive image
of the schools.
4. School personnel responsible for the public relations
203
program subscribe to and read periodicals written
specifically for executives with public relations
assignments.
Suggestions for Further Study
As this nationally-oriented research progressed, it became
apparent that further studies would be appropriate and necessary in
the field of public relations in the determination of specific methods
with which the school story could be told. The suggestions for
further study are:
1. A study should be made of the public relations
methods utilized by representative school districts
within a state.
2. A study should be made to differentiate between the
specific techniques which could be used by the in
dividual school and the methods which would be more
appropriate to district-wide effort, providing sug
gestions for personnel in the individual school.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
LETTER OF ENDORSEMENT
A D epartm ent o f tho Notion*! education Aoooeiotion 1201 10th Stroot. N. W.. Washington, f t C. 20030 AOoma 4-4040
January 5, 1965
Mr. John F. Dean
Director of Curriculum
Newport Beach Elementary School District
2000 Cliff Drive - P. 0. Box 1365
Newport Beach, California 92663
Dear John:
The National School Public Relations Association is vitally
interested in the research which you are doing in the field
of school public relations and would like to endorse this
project for your dissertation at the University of Southern
California and to enlist the assistance of the chapters of
the National School Public Relations Association throughout
the United States in assisting you.
Mr. John F. Dean
D irector o f Curriculum
Newport Beach Elementary School D is tr ic t
2000 C lif f Drive - P. 0 . Box 1365
Newport Beach, C aliforn ia 92663
Dear John:
The N ational School P ublic R elation s A ssociation is v it a lly
in te r e ste d in the research which you are doing in the f ie ld
o f school p u b lic r e la tio n s and would lik e to endorse th is
p roject fo r your d isse r ta tio n a t the U n iversity o f Southern
C aliforn ia and to e n lis t the a ssista n c e o f th e chapters o f
the N ational School P ublic R elations A ssociation throughout
the United S ta tes in a s s is tin g you.
W e s h a ll grea tly appreciate receiv in g a copy o f the summary
o f your fin d in gs on com pletion o f the stu d y, because we
b e lie v e th is w ill be a valuable reference item fo r us at
the headquarters o f the N ational School P ublic R elations
A ssociation .
S in cerely ,
Roy K. W ilson
Secretary-T reasurer
APPENDIX B
QUESTIONNAIRE
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVERTISING
TECHNIQUES SELECTED FROM THE
COMMERCIAL LITERATURE
Outstanding
Good
Weak
Should not be used
Business and industry are being encouraged fay advertising specialists
to develop and use trademarks on every product and in each communi
cation.
School districts should attempt to develop and use a unique trademark
or symbol to identify themselves.
2. Institutional advertising is beginning to use films to improve the image
of a company. These films are shown at club programs and civic activities.
School districts should be encouraged to make an inexpensive, professional
qualify film of the activities to be shown to sim ilar civic groups.
3. At least one successful advertising concern began several years ago to
place its account executives into the retail outlets of large accounts to gain
ideas to help sell the retailer and his business.
It would benefit the schools, die community, and the administration if each
administrator would substitute three o r four days each year to teach at
various grade levels within his school or district, using lesson plans pro
vided by the regular teacher.
4. One division of General Motors has its own company radio station and part
of the time is devoted to interviews with people who have interesting jobs
in the same plant.
The district superintendent could arrange a weekly interview over a local
_____ uuiw uaiug Miifcciu oegwi several years ago to
place its account executives into the retail outlets of large accounts to gain
ideas to help sell the retailer and his business.
It would benefit the schools, the community, and the administration if each
administrator would substitute three o r four days each year to teach at
various grade levels within his school or district, using lesson plans pro
vided by the regular teacher.
4. One division of General Motors has its own company radio station and part
of the time is devoted to interviews with people who have interesting jobs
in the same plant.
The district superintendent could arrange a weekly interview over a local
radio station. Each week the subject for the ensuing week could be
announced and townspeople could send in questions to be asked by the super
intendent of his guest who is selected from the certificated or classified
staffs.
5. Employees of an eastern manufacturing plant decided to organize a SOME
DAY program to which they donated part of their lunch money which would
have been spent in the company cafeteria. They called it So Others May
Eat Day, and donated the money to CARE. They invited others in the com
munity to share their project, set a target date, and raised hundreds of
dollars during the few days die drive was held.
Teachers could improve their image in the community by sponsoring such
a SOME DAY program and inviting other groups within the community to
join them.
6. Shell Oil Company adopted a slogan, "The Pursuit of Excellence, " which
was printed on all correspondence to all of its publics, in an attempt to
improve its image. Surveys indicated that it was a successful promotion.
School districts could develop sim ilar slogans, use them during part of the
school year, and call attention to a particular part of the schools.
7. Banks and savings institutions recently began using humor in their adver
tising to help destroy the "curmudgeon" image.
School districts should consider using humor in their brochures for *™ »che r
recruitment, bond and tax campaigns, and other printed m atter. -
Outstanding
Good
Weak
Ham id not be used
8. Business executives occasionally use opinion research to solve problems
or grasp opportunities to advance toward a goal.
School superintendents should consider sending out questionnaires to staff
members from time to time asking for their opinion on a given school sub
ject or problem.
9. Executives often communicate with salesmen in the field to gain new ideas
they might use in reaching the publics.
School district adm inistrators should contact teachers regularly for new
ideas they might use in reaching the publics.
10. Manufacturers often use "unsolicited testim onials" for their products in
advertising campaigns.
School district adm inistrators should contact people in die community who
have given such testimonials to secure quotes which could be used in tax
and bond campaigns, recruitm ent brochures, and other printed m aterial
reaching a segment of the public.
11. Business and industry often give shares of stock as rew ards for outstand
ing production o r new ideas.
School districts should encourage local industry to give a share of stock to
each student in the top 1 per cent of his junior class, with the stipulation
that the student attend the annual stockholders meeting to learn how economics
works in the business world.
12. Many industries build rapport with their communities by adopting and sup
porting a particular organization such as the Boys' Club, the dental clinic,
or a children's home. Golf or bowling tournaments are held, for prnmnio
School districts should encourage local industry to give a share of stock to
each student in the top 1 per cent of his junior class, with the stipulation
that the student attend the annual stockholders meeting to learn how economics
works in the business world.
12. Many industries build rapport with their communities by adopting and sup
porting a particular organization such as the Boys' Club, the dental clinic,
or a children's home. Golf or bowling tournaments are held, for example,
with the proceeds going to the particular organization.
Staff members of local school districts should consider the same type of
program by adopting a worthy group, organizing fund-raising tournaments,
and providing leadership in the community to support the project.
13. Many local businesses subscribe to and support the local Welcome Wagon
or Chamber of Commerce.
District superintendents should consider writing a letter of welcome giving
school locations and other pertinent data, to be distributed with the Welcome
package given to new residents.
14. Business and industry continually strive for rtw » porannai mimh w i t h _____
the faihilies of employees as well as the general membership of the community.
D istrict superintendents should call on the homes and families of employees
and other townspeople to show their interest in diem as people.
15. Personal letters to stockholders are encouraged by public relations officers
of large companies.
D istrict superintendents o r principals should write short notes to families
entering or leaving the district or school.
16. Large companies often hold annual meetings in various parts of the nation
to give stockholders the opportunity to attend.
Boards of Education and district superintendents should hold their regular
meetings in different parts of die city to give more people die opportunity
to attend and ask questions.
> o
VSaE
Should not be used
17. Publicly-owned companies often encourage their stockholders to lobby for
or against legislation which might affect the company.
Boards of Education and district superintendents should encourage their
townspeople to write letters lobbying for or against legislation which could
affect the school district.
18. Public relations offices often have a file of feature articles concerning their
clients and their products for release during "slow news" periods.
School districts should attempt to build such a file of feature articles on
teaching techniques* historical data* etc. * for release during quiet periods.
19. Newspapers deliberately attempt to avoid news stories or features which
smack of commercialism* but will use stories which include the commercial
aspect if noncommercial information is written into the story.
School district writers should attempt to include* for example* information
about the Fire Department as well as the fact that second grade children
visited it on a given day.
20. Businessmen state that the annual report encompassing as many facts as
possible about the company is the one most important document issued.
School districts should issue an annual report including as many activities
of the school district as are feasible.
21. Professional journals in medicine and law* for example, are often liberally
sprinkled with the vocabulary of the profession.
Superintendents and school personnel in general should use professional
terms in their oral and written contact with the various publics.
of the school district as are feasible.
Professional journals in medicine and law, for example, are often liberally
sprinkled with the vocabulary of the profession.
Superintendents and school personnel in general should use professional
terms in their oral and written contact with the various publics.
Business and industry regularly release information to the public when even
the most insignificant honor has been awarded to the plant or one of the
employees.
School districts should be encouraged to print brochures and/or send out
news releases concerning honors and achievements accorded to it over the
year, showing the public how much it is getting for its tax dollar.
Many businesses regularly schedule news releases for the express purpose
of introducing or reintroducing management to die employees and the com
munity.
School districts should use their inside and outside publications to introduce
, ox- r«iatroduce tiw. ■upwrinBmrient, h is staff, and the Board of Education to
the community.
Highlights of die annual report to the stockholders are often rewritten and
condensed for distribution to die employees for their information.
District superintendents should submit an informal written report to the
district employees, utilizing material taken from die annual report to the
community, and stressing the "we" approach.
Regular quarterly financial reports are considered a "must" by most major
companies.
School districts should endeavor to send regular reports to the community
concerning the achievements, goals, possible problems, and services pro
vided to die students and not generally known by the public.
Outstanding
Good
Weak
Should not be used
26. People trained in public relations often claim that private public relations
organizations can sigjply better, more knowledgeable services to a company
than its own department within the company is able to do.
A school district having public relations problems should employ a pro-
fessional public relations agency or individual on contract to help overcome
the difficulty.
27. Quick and easy sales promotions are being achieved by using pressure-
sensitive labels attached to products, letterheads, and other communication
media.
Small pressure-sensitive labels promoting bond and tax campaigns, Public
Schools Week, and many other school activities could be attached to envelopes,
placed on newspaper racks, and evident in many heavily-trafficked areas
in die community could be an inexpensive way of getting the message to the
public.
28. Many organizations are using pressure-sensitive name badges to promote
their organizations, groups, and special causes.
School districts, or their employee organizations, should have their slogan
or name printed on name badges and distributed free of charge to local
clubs and organizations to promote education, bond issues, and any relevant
activity..
29. Many school districts mimeograph or otherwise duplicate parent-information
booklets, annual reports, e tc ., rather than having them printed— primarily
due to cost.
Districts should make every effort to have formal and semiformal information
printed professionally, even though the cost is M o r h A r if t*A
u v u v x t j r •
29. Many school districts mimeograph o r otherwise duplicate parent-information
booklets, annual reports, e tc ., rather than having them printed—prim arily
due to cost.
D istricts should make every effort to have formal and semiformal information
printed professionally, even though the cost is higher, if the m aterial is
prim arily for public information.
30. Advertising agencies occasionally use classified advertising in several news
media in the promotion of a company or a particular product.
School districts should place several classified ads in newspapers to promote
bond and tax campaigns, hot lunch program s, and other appropriate school
activities.
31. Many companies have produced 8mm film-loop o r 35mm slide program s for
use in unattended displays at conventions and conferences.
School districts should develop sim ilar film and slide m aterials to place in
local store windows, bank foyers, and other heavily-trafficked areas to give
school information.
32. An electric power company began an intensive campaign to combat consumer
belief that the service was becoming prohibitively expensive by publishing
pictures of a full meal cooked electrically for a few pennies.
School districts should try to include in (he news media a specific dollar and
cents cost per hour, day, or week for die service provided for the community.
33. Sales promotion executives are encouraged by leaders in the field to direct
their "clipping services" to secure all newspaper references to rival
companies as well as their own to secure information regarding die products
of competitors.
School district adm inistrators should be encouraged to subscribe to news
papers in communities served by other highly-respected districts to keep
abreast of curriculum innovations and general school news.
to
Weak
Should not be used
34. One advantage often cited regarding conferences and conventions is that the
exchange of information, and the subsequent triggering of new ideas, leads
to greater growth in individuals and companies.
School district administrators should arrange the juanmorir exchange of
printed materials with selected school districts to gain from the experi
ences and ideas of others in the field.
35. Sales promotions are often launched with fanfare and a contest to stimulate
a segment of the public.
School district administrators should consider launching bond and tax
elections with a contest for an appropriate slogan which could be used in
all election materials promoting the vote.
36. Advertisers generally recognize that die consumer must be able to project
himself into the scene depicted if he is to be motivated to the point of purchase.
To reach the many publics reading school district material, administrators
should be encouraged to assess the audience in each of the publics and
prepare differing materials on the same subject to insure effective com
munication.
37. Printers* Ink reports that a survey of direct-mail advertising indicated that
this media has approximately 75 per cent readership, which is far greater
than any other media.
School districts should mail bulletins and other parent information directly
to the homes rather than rely on student delivery or mass media.
38. Cocktail parties are often given by industrial concerns in launching new
products or services.
man any otner media.
School districts should mail bulletins and other parent information directly
to the homes rather than rely on student delivery or mass media.
Cocktail parties are often given by industrial concerns in launching new
products or services.
To initiate bond and tax election campaigns or school hoard races, private
citizens should be encouraged to give cocktail parties inviting local in
fluential people as guests to create interest in die events.
Press kits are recommended by virtually every public relations organization
as a necessity to promote a given idea or company. These kits include
photographs, art work, technical and nontechnical information, and other
pertinent data regarding the company and its product.
School district administrators should develop similar kits for distribution
at die opening of school term s--to introduce bond and tax needs and other
significant actions.
Surveys report that four out of ten family heads between the ages of eighteen
and twenty-four move within five years.
School district administrators who prepare news releases and parent infor
mation or curriculum bulletins should know the mobility of the population
and repeat die subject matter often enough to reach the new parents enter
ing their community.
Printers' Ink reports that one of the most powerful tools of the advertiser
is die slogan.
School district administrators should encourage the adoption of an appropriate
slogan with which to identify the district.
According to the National Research Bureau, direct-mail sales gross in excess
of $300,000,000 annually.
Outstanding
££r
Weak
Should not be used
School district administrators responsible for reaching the community for
financial sipport should become familiar with the successful direct-mail
selling techniques and use this medium in promoting good education.
43. Many supermarkets enlist the aid of their customers, and build staff morale,
by having them select the "Checker of the Year," who competes for national
and international honors. The announced purpose is to recognize good
customer service. Prizes are given to the winner and runners-up. Staff
morale increases and the image of the company improves.
School districts should consider initiating a 'Teacher of the Year" program
locally or area-wide to give recognition and increase public interest in
teaching. Prizes could be solicited from local or national merchants.
44. Most large supermarkets have their own public relations departments or con
tract with advertising agencies to promote not only their organizations but
promote items of public-interest as well.
School district administrators should contact local merchants with the request
diat they include brief references to school activities, elections, and other
appropriate school functions in their advertising rather than seek private
funds to publish large ads to promote an election.
45. Sales promotions of all types often give prizes for attaining prescribed goals
for the company or individual.
Teacher organizations striving to improve their image in a community should
initiate directly or indirectly a 'Student of the Month" program, based on
scholastic and/or service achievement, with prizes in the form of tickets to
a cultural event or sports activity.
46. Financial organizations are encouraged by their public relations a d visers to
Teacher organizations striving to improve their image in a community should
initiate directly or indirectly a 'Student of the Month" program, based on
scholastic and/or service achievement, with prizes in the form of tickets to
a cultural event or sports activity.
Financial organizations are encouraged by their public relations advisers to
stress the strength of their businesses in terms of academic degrees held by
the personnel and their experience in the field.
School district administrators should inform the community of the number
of graduate degrees held and die number of staff members taking graduate
work to better serve the children and die community.
Many electronic industries seeking new employees include information in
their recruitment brochures concerning the availability of graduate work and
incentives offered to those participating.
School district personnel-recruitment brochures should accent the avail
ability of graduate school classes, degrees held by current staff members,
and incentives offered for advanced work.
Public relations specialists are advising management that boards of directors
are becoming more sophisticated in their knowledge of their companies, and
that management should point out the difficulties facing the companies as well as
possible solutions to the problems.
School district administrators should report to the Board of Education, and
to the community, the liabilities and problems of the district as well as the
goals achieved to prevent an ouster move fa y a disillusioned public when they
become aware that a problem exists.
Publicly-governed companies have increased their attempts to personalize
the company image to stockholders by having management write personal
letters and visit the homes of small stockholders, indicating their interest
in the people supporting the company.
Outstanding
Good
Weak
Should not be used
School district adm inistrators should make personal calls on "stockholders"
in die community to answer questions and enlist their support of public
schools.
50. Public relations specialists are encouraging businessmen to develop interests
outside of their commercial specialties, become proficient in them, and
prepare themselves to speak to community groups, thus increasing their
versatility and adding to the positive image of the companies.
School teachers and adm inistrators would be wise to follow this example
(of developing avocational interests and presenting programs to local civic
groups).
APPENDIX C
SURVEY
216
COPY
Name________________Pos ition__________
School D istrict_________________________
Address_______________________________
Public Relations Techniques
CURRICULUM (Any level or subject)
This one really workedl
This technique backfired, and I wouldn't recommend it at all!
When completed, please mail to: John F. Dean
1136 Highland Drive
Newport Beach, Calif.
COPY
217
COPY
Name_______________ Position__________
School District________________________
Address______________________________
Public Relations Techniques
PERSONNEL (Recruitment, in-service education, etc.)
This one really workedl
This technique backfired, and I wouldn't recommend it at all!
When completed, please mail to: John F. Dean
1136 Highland Drive
Newport Beach, Calif.
COPY
COPY
218
N ame Position
School District______________________
Address____________________________
Public Relations Techniques
BUSINESS FUNCTIONS (Tax and Bond elections, transportation,
cafeteria services, annual report, etc.)
This one really workedl
This technique backfired, and 1 wouldn't recommend it at all!
When completed, please return to: John F. Dean
1136 Highland Drive
Newport Beach, Calif.
COPY
APPENDIX D
POSTAL CARD
COPY
220
Dear
As one of twenty-five NSPRA Chapter Presidents, you
have information and status equalled by few in the
nation, and 1 need your help. My doctoral dissertation
is in School Public Relations. The brief survey instru
ment has been approved by my Committee and the study
endorsed by NSPRA. It is ready to submit to the twenty-
five Chapter Presidents or to persons they designate. It
asks for the three finest school P. R. techniques each has
seen recently. The survey will require at most twenty
minutes to complete.
If you prefer, I will send the survey to one of your
chapter members for completion. Please fill in the other
half of this card, and drop it in the mail today. (Or by
May 1, please) Thanks for your help.
Sincerely,
John F. Dean
Director of Curriculum
Newport Beach, Calif. Schools
Dear John:
Sure, I'll be happy to take a few minutes to help
you, and I'd like a copy of the results to help me.
Our Chapter will help you. Send the survey to:
tfame Position
Address City and State
President's Name
Address
City J
State
COPY
APPENDIX E
COVER LETTER FROM NSPRA
COPY
222
Miss Joan Smith
Public Relations Department
440 East 1 South
Anytown, Utah
Dear Miss Smith:
You have received, or will receive shortly, a letter and questionnaire
from John F. Dean, Director of Curriculum, Newport Beach
Elementary School D istrict, Newport Beach, California. Mr. Dean
is involved in research in the field of school public relations, in
connection with the preparation of his doctoral dissertation.
The National School Public Relations Association is vitally interested
in the research being done by Mr. Dean and by others in the field of
school public relations, and we would, therefore, appreciate any
assistance you can lend.
Mr. Dean assures me that you will not be identified with the infor
mation and m aterial you may submit in response to his inquiry, but
that your response is vital to an accurate assessm ent of present
public relations techniques and attitudes.
You will receive from Mr. Dean a copy of the summary of his find
ings at the completion of his study. This, in itself, will be a
dividend for any assistance you may be able to provide.
Sincerely,
Roy K. Wilson
Secretary-Treasurer
May 14, 1965
COPY
APPENDIX F
COVER LETTER FOR SURVEY
COPY
224
1136 Highland Drive
Newport Beach, California
April 15, 1965
Dear fellow NSPRA'er:
Roy Wilson has helped me to select you as one of twenty-five leaders
in school public relations, and I need your help. In turn, I may be
able to help make your job easier.
My doctoral dissertation at the University of Southern California is
designed to uncover the finest public relations techniques used in the
past two years throughout America. Your part is educational public
relations. The other half of the study will involve techniques from
the business and commercial world which may be helpful to us in
promoting education.
I am seeking the finest public relations techniques which interpret
school curriculum, business functions (tax and bond elections, trans
portation, cafeteria services, etc.), and personnel (recruitm ent
m aterials, in-service education, etc.) to the publics. In your posi
tion of leadership, you have undoubtedly seen or used many effective
techniques in the past two years.
Please use the attached sheets to describe briefly the best techniques
you have seen or used in each area. I would appreciate also one
technique in each area which backfired and should not be used. These
may keep the rest of us from falling into a trap.
Just jot down a few lines which will adequately describe the technique,
please. I will not identify you with the techniques, but will give you
credit in the dissertation for your help. If you cannot recall a tech
nique in each area, just send what you can recall.
Just as in your daily endeavors, time is very important. Please
complete the sheets now, and drop them in the mail. I will send you
a copy of the results of this nationwide survey. I am contacting only
twenty-four other leaders in the field. Your answers are vital.
Thanks for your help.
Sincerely,
John F. Dean, Dir. of Curriculum
Newport Beach School D istrict
P. S. If you prefer, you may wish to ask a member of your NSPRA
Chapter to do this for you. I will rely on your good judgment.
COPY
APPENDIX G
COVER LETTER FOR QUESTIONNAIRE
1136 Highland Drive
Newport Beach, California
May 25, 1965
Dear
Roy Wilson helped me to select you as a specialist in educational
public relations. You are one of twelve nationally-recognized
leaders chosen from the field, and 1 need your help. The research I
am conducting may, in turn, provide significant information for you.
My doctoral dissertation at the University of Southern California is
designed to uncover the finest public relations techniques used in
education over the past two years throughout America, and that
survey has been completed. The portion of the study which needs
your reaction is enclosed.
One hypothesis is that we in education may profit from public re la
tions and advertising techniques developed by business and industry.
Each of the fifty techniques on the enclosed sheets has been gleaned
from the commercial literature. As commercial devices, they were
successful. Your assessm ent of them for possible use in interpret
ing our educational program to the publics will help to prove or dis
prove this hypothesis.
Please read the accompanying m aterial and check the appropriate box
by each statement. With your assistance, the results will be known
soon, and 1 will send you a summary of the complete study.
As one of twelve specialists in the nation, your reactions are vital.
Please take twenty minutes today or tomorrow to complete the survey
and drop it in the m ail by June 1. The National School Public Relations
Association, which endorsed the study, and I appreciate your help.
Sincerely,
John F . Dean
D irector of Curriculum
Newport Beach School D istrict
COPY
APPENDIX H
JURY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALISTS
228
JURY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALISTS
D r. Sylvia Ciernick
D irector of University Relations
University of Alaska
College, Alaska
D r. Lee Demeter
Director of Information
Great Neck Public Schools
345 Lakeville Road
Great Neck, New York
Robert F. Flahive, Director
Department of Community Relations
Milwaukee Public Schools
5225 West Vliet Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
D r. H. Bailey Gardner, Director
Public Information Services
Kansas City Public Schools
1211 McGee Street
Kansas City, M issouri
William E. Henry, Manager
ENS
Ohio Education Association
215 East Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio
Ned S. Hubbell
Director of Information
National School Boards Association
1940 Sheridan Road
Evanston, Illinois
Jerome G. Kovalcik
Assistant Superintendent in
Charge of Education Infor
mation Services and Public
Relations
New York City Public Schools
110 Livingston Street
Brooklyn, New York
Gene Lines, D irector
Information Services
Denver Public Schools
414 Fourteenth Street
Denver, Colorado
D r. Gordon McCloskey
Professor of Education
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington
David Smoker, Director
Public Information Department
Albuquerque Public Schools
P. O. Box 1719
Albuquerque, New Mexico
M rs. Hazel A. Trumble,
Director
P ress, Radio, and Television
Relations
Detroit Board of Education
5057 Woodward
Detroit, Michigan
Walter R. King
Special Assistant to the Commissioner
State Education Department
Albany, New York
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Asset Metadata

Creator Dean, John Frederick (author)

Core Title An Analysis Of Commercial And Educational Public Relations Techniques Forschools

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, administration,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Nelson, D. Lloyd (committee chair), Martin, David W. (committee member), Wilson, Donald E. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-203325

Unique identifier UC11359911

Identifier 6608781.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-203325 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 6608781.pdf

Dmrecord 203325

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Dean, John Frederick

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA