Abstract:
Journalism does not have a strong academic identity in Australia
- it is known mainly for its highly popular undergraduate
professional education programs. Research and postgraduate
studies remain marginal activities. That leaves journalism educators
in an odd position. Teaching in higher education has traditionally
been linked to research qualifications and practices. The common
academic assumption is that "research necessarily underpins higher
education teaching" (James 1998: 107), So how do journalism
educators do it? This paper is a preliminary attempt to explore the
relationship between traditional academic research and teaching
and learning practices in journalism education in Australia.
The author analyses some of the findings from the journalism
education literature produced between 1987 and 2001. The aim
is to identify and comment on the place of academic research
in models of professional education in the field, the support for
research as evidenced in the field's institutional structures and the
arguments and strategies adopted by journalism educators who
advocate research as the basis for disciplinary development.
