Securing the Future of Communication Education: Advancing an Advocacy and Research Agenda for the 21st Century

Abstract

In the late 1980s, noted communication scholar Cassandra Book laid out a comprehensive rationale and agenda for communication education research specifically focusing on pedagogical content knowledge for Communication courses in K-12 education. It has been 25 years since Book published her call for those in our discipline to pursue research interests in communication pedagogy. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the progress, or lack thereof, that scholars in our discipline have made in this area and to provide suggestions for advancing a communication pedagogy advocacy and research agenda for the 21st century.

Keywords:

• Communication Education
• Instructional Communication
• Communication Pedagogy
• Pedagogical Content Knowledge
• Teacher Education