Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Theses, Dissertations and Capstones 2018 Curriculum Change in Undergraduate Strategic Communications Programs: How Strategic Communications Programs are Adapting to 21st Century Media Allyson B. Goodman Follow this and additional works at: https://mds.marshall.edu/etd Part of the Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Higher Education Commons, and the Mass Communication Commons CURRICULUM CHANGE IN UNDERGRADUATE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAMS: HOW STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAMS ARE ADAPTING TO 21ST CENTURY MEDIA A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate College of Marshall University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education In Curriculum and Instruction by Allyson B. Goodman Approved by Lisa A. Heaton, Ph.D., Committee Chair Ronald B. Childress, Ed.D. Rudy D. Pauley, Ed.D. Christopher L. Swindell, Ph.D. Marshall University May 2018 ii © 2018 Allyson B. Goodman ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As with any endeavor of this magnitude, the resulting work is never accomplished alone. I want to take this opportunity to thank my committee for your direction and guidance through this process and for faithfully and honestly evaluating my work. To Dr. Rudy Pauley, who can now officially retire, I am grateful that you have stuck with me. To Dr. Ron Childress, I am thankful for your dedication to procedure and detailed direction on research design and evaluation. To Dr. Chris Swindell, my colleague, I am thankful for a listening ear and encouraging words when I needed direction from someone in mass communications. A special appreciation goes to Dr. Lisa Heaton, my committee chair. You inspire me by your energy, your brilliance and your dedication to your students. You never gave up on me, gave me explicit and organized direction and even chided me when my excuses got too long and too many. Without your belief in me and knowledge of the dissertation process, I would never have made it through this dissertation or completed this degree. On a more personal level, I would like to thank my mother, Wanda Gay Bird. She has walked with me every step of the way providing childcare so I could attend class and work on research and excellent editing on this document as well as other research documents and presentations. Without your support, encouragement and belief in me, I could not have accomplished this task. To my husband, Mitch, who has allowed me to work numerous nights with the light on while he tried to sleep, helped manage a household and children around class schedules and research work, and tolerated much general complaining and crankiness, thank you for your love. To my three children, Danielle, Drew and especially Dianna, who were 15, 13 and 3 when I began this process and have grown up knowing no other life than a mother, who is working on a doctorate, thanks for your love, support and forgiveness. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 Background ................................................................................................................. 2 Problem Statement ...................................................................................................... 8 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................... 9 Research Questions ................................................................................................... 11 Operational Definitions ............................................................................................. 11 Significance of the Study .......................................................................................... 12 Delimitations of the Study ........................................................................................ 13 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 15 Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Review of Literature ......................................................................................................... 17 The Impact of New and Social Media on Mass Communications ............................ 19 The Evolution of Mass Communication Education .................................................. 30 Status of Social Media and New Media Education .................................................. 45 Curriculum Change ................................................................................................... 56 v Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 65 Chapter 3 ....................................................................................................................................... 67 Methods ............................................................................................................................ 67 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................. 67 Research Goals .......................................................................................................... 69 Research Design ........................................................................................................ 70 Population and Sample ............................................................................................. 73 Instrumentation ......................................................................................................... 75 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................ 76 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................ 77 Reliability and Validity ............................................................................................. 78 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 80 CHAPTER 4 ................................................................................................................................. 81 FINDINGS ....................................................................................................................... 81 Population and Sample ............................................................................................. 81 Research Questions ................................................................................................... 86 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 113 CHAPTER 5 ............................................................................................................................... 114 CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION .......................................................................... 114 Summary of Purpose ............................................................................................... 114 vi Summary of Method ............................................................................................... 114 Summary of Population and Samples ..................................................................... 116 Conclusions and Discussion ................................................................................... 117 Implications of Study .............................................................................................. 134 Recommendations for Future Research .................................................................. 136 References ................................................................................................................................... 137 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................. 146 Office of Research Integrity Approval Letter ................................................................ 146 Appendix B ................................................................................................................................. 147 Content Analysis Coding Book ...................................................................................... 147 Appendix C ................................................................................................................................. 154 Content Analysis Coding Form ...................................................................................... 154 Appendix D ................................................................................................................................. 155 Interview