Public Relations’ Addressing of the Educational Crisis at An-Najah National University During the War on Gaza (2023–2025) Using the Situational Crisis Communication Theory and the Social-Mediated Approach
Keywords:
Situational Communication Theory (SCCT), Social Mediation Model (SMCC), Educational Crises, An-Najah National University, The War on Gaza (2023-2025)
Abstract
This study aimed to identify the extent to which public relations at An-Najah National University employed the Situational Communication Theory (SCCT) and The Social -Mediated Crisis Communication Model (SMCC), during the war on Gaza (2023-2025), in relation to the crisis of the educational process. The study used the descriptive analytical method, where the questionnaire, towards the performance of public relations in that crisis. The study community was represented by university students. The sample size of the students was (378) individuals. The results showed that there was a high degree of satisfaction with the role of Public Relations at the University in disseminating information quickly and accurately. As well as a high level of satisfaction about the University bearing the burden of the crisis and effectively managing it. On the other hand, the results showed a lower level of satisfaction about responding to students 'demands and complaints, and the results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in students' assessment of Public Relations performance in crisis management due to gender and specialization variables, while there were differences due to place of residence and Specialization, where the level of satisfaction was for city residents more than residents of villages and camps, and for Masters more than bachelor students.
References
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2. Ajwa, A. (2020). Public relations and mental image. Cairo: Alam Al-Kutub.
3. Ajwa, A., & Farid, K. (2008). Public relations management between strategy and crisis management. Cairo: Alam Al-Kutub.
4. Al-Ghoul, S. (2015). Response strategies to potential crises resulting from serious school accidents in light of situational crisis communication theory [Unpublished master's thesis]. Birzeit University, Palestine.
5. Avery, E., Lariscy, R., Kim, S. & Hocke, T. (2010). A quantitative review of crisis communication research in public relations from 1991 to 2009. Public relation Review, 36(2), 190-192.
6. Baqer, M. (2014). The mental image in public relations. Amman: Osama Publishing & Distribution.
7. Basha, L. (2023). The Effectiveness of Situational Crisis Communication Theory in Assessing Personal Political Apologies: A Case Study Approach. Unpublished master thesis. Mount Saint Vincent University.
8. Barkley, K. (2020). Does one size fit all? The applicability of situational crisis communication theory in the Japanese context. Public Relations Review, 46(3), 101911.
9. Ben Mezari, F. (2020, June 15). The effectiveness of communication in crisis management in institutions: Foundations and premises. Sociology of Algeria, 4(1), 246–263.
10. Claeys, A., & Cauberghe, V. (2012). Crisis response and crisis timing strategies, two sides of the same coin. Public Relations Review, 38(1), 83-88.
11. Claeys, A., & Cauberghe, V. (2014). What makes crisis response strategies work? The impact of crisis involvement and message framing. Journal of Business Research, 67(2), 182-189.
12. Coombs, T. W. (2007). Protecting Organization Reputations During a Crisis: The Development and Application of Situational Crisis Communication Theory. Corporate Reputation Reviw, 10(3), 163–177.
13. Coombs, W. T. (2022). Ongoing Crisis Communication: Planning, Managing, and Responding. (6th. ed.). London: SAGE Publications.
14. Derani, N. & Naidu, P. (2016). The Impact of utilizing social media as a communication platform during a crisis within the oil industry. Procedia Economics and Finance, 35(2), 650-658.
15. Effiong, A. I. (2014). Managing reputation risk and situational crisis in higher institutions of learning. Independent Journal of Management & Production, 5(2), 458-479.
16. Farkous, M. (1995). Estimated budgets. Algeria: National University Publishing House.
17. Garcia, E. (2011). A tutorial on correlation coefficients. Retrieved (on 3/10/2024) from web. simmons. edu/∼ benoit/lis642/atutorial-on-correlation-coefficients. pdf.
18. Hatimi, H. (2015). Public relations and social media networks. Amman: Osama Publishing & Distribution.
19. Herzallah, F. (2020). The role of public relations in communication during crises: Birzeit University as a model [Unpublished master's thesis]. An-Najah National University, Palestine.
20. Huang, Y.-H., & Lin, Y.-X. (2004, July). Construction of Internet crisis management model: Analysis of relations between situation, Internet communications, and responses from organizations. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Chinese Communication Society, Macau.
21. Jaafar, H. (2023, October 12). Between the Al-Aqsa Flood and the Iron Swords. Al Jazeera Net. Retrieved September 27, 2024, from https://tinyurl.com/msas8tdb
22. Jeong, S.-H. (2009, 9 3). Public's Responses to an Oil Spill accident: A Test of the Attribution Theory and Situational Crisis Communication Theory. Public Relations Review, 35(3), 307-309.
23. Jin, Y., & Austin, L. (2022). Social Media and Crisis Communication. (2nd, ed.). New York: Routledge.
24. Kim, J. (2019, 9). Underlying processes of SCCT: Mediating roles of preventability, blame, and trust, Public Relations Review, 45(3), 101775.
25. Kong, S., & Chen, H. (2022). Revisiting the SMCC model: How Chinese public relations practitioners handle social-mediated crises. Public Relations Review, 48(5), 102259.
26. Kyhn, H. (2008). Situational crisis communication theory: it is use in a complex crisis with scandinavian airlines’ grounding of dash 8-q400 airplanes. Unpublished master thesis. Aarhus School of Business.
27. Larkin, J. & Regester, M. (2005). Risk issues and crisis management: A casebook of best practice. London (3rd ed.). New Your. Kogan Page publishers.
28. Liu, B. F., Austin, L., & Jin, Y. (2011). Social-Mediated Crisis Communication (SMCC) model. In How audiences seek out crisis information: Exploring the Social Mediated Crisis Communication model (pp. 188–207). Journal of Applied Communication Research, 40(2).
29. Maher, A. (2000). Crisis management (3rd ed.). Egypt: University Publishing.
30. Malikawi, F., & Odeh, A. (1992). Fundamentals of scientific research in education and the humanities: Research elements, methods, and statistical analysis. Irbid: Al-Amal Publishing.
31. Mashaqbah, B. (2014). Dictionary of public relations terms. Amman: Osama Publishing & Distribution.
32. Mitroff, I., & Anagnos, G. (2002). Managing Crisis Before They Happen: What Every Executive and Manager Needs to Know About Crisis Management. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 19(1), 103-105.
33. Mustafa, M. (2012). Introduction to public relations. Cairo: Arab Publishing & Distribution.
34. Nazri, N., Hamzeh, M., & Ahmad, N. (2020). Adaptation of Social Mediated Crisis Communication Model: A Systematic Review. Journal of Human Development & Communcation, 9(2020), 41-46.
35. Niu, R. & Ma, X. (2023). Warranted inferences of mediation and possibility of a threshold effect: Verifying the mediating effects of anger in situational crisis communication theory. Public Relations Review, 49(5), 102372.
36. Sulistyanto, A., Usmar, U. & Hermiyetti, H. (2020). Model of crisis communication management in the perspective of situational crisis communication theory at the transportation ministry. Communication Journal of Indonesian Association of Communication Scholars, 5(2), 232-242.
37. Yum, J. & Jeong, S. (2015). Examining the Public’s Responses to Crisis Communication from the Perspective of Three Models of Attribution. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 29(2), 159-183.
Published
2025-07-22
How to Cite
Lina Yahya Bakeer, & Dr. Farid Abdelfattah Abudheir. (2025). Public Relations’ Addressing of the Educational Crisis at An-Najah National University During the War on Gaza (2023–2025) Using the Situational Crisis Communication Theory and the Social-Mediated Approach. Journal of Arts, Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences, (122), 188-217. https://doi.org/10.33193/JALHSS.122.2025.1464
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