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Alliance Reports Results from Educational Standards Survey

The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education recently conducted a national survey to gather information from the educational community on the attitudes or perceptions regarding: 1) formation of standards for teacher education, massage school curricula, and continuing education; and 2) the Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge.

This survey was developed by the Alliance's Professional Standards Committee, which made the survey available to massage school directors and administrators, teachers and continuing education providers through a variety of media channels. There were a total of 312 respondents from these constituent groups, and there were clear trends that emerged in response to a number of the survey questions:

82.0% agreed that national standards need to be established for massage/bodywork curricula in entry-level programs, versus 7.1% who disagreed.
80.4% agreed that competency-based national teacher education standards are needed, versus 6.8% who disagreed.
75.3% agreed that there needs to be national standards defined for advanced-level training programs and certification in specialized areas of practice, versus 11.2% who disagreed.
53.5% indicated their agreement with the need for a single centralized approval program for continuing education providers and courses, versus 25.6% who did not agree that such a program was needed.
53.2% agreed that the Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge needs modification before being adopted as an "official" document to be used by state agencies and national accrediting commissions, versus only 5.2% who disagreed.

This data affirms the strategic direction established by the Alliance, and is congruent with one of the organization's key goals: to develop standards that guide and inform the effective teaching of massage therapy.

The complete results of this survey are available from the News section on the Alliance's website, or by clicking this direct link: SURVEY REPORT

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About the Alliance:
The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education is the independent voice, advocate and resource for the community of massage therapy schools and educators. It serves the entire education sector – from entry-level training programs through post-graduate studies. The National Headquarters of the Alliance is located at 1760 Old Meadow Road, Suite 500, McLean, Virginia 22102. The phone number is 703-506-2888, the general office email address is admin@afmte.org, and the website is http://www.afmte.org.

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Comment by Gloria Coppola on December 8, 2010 at 8:59pm: Rick
I am glad you are establishing this foundation. I would love to be a part in any way I can! It's about time!

Comment by Michael Lutz on November 28, 2010 at 9:58pm: I am glad something like this is happening. I found it unfortunate that there was no real criterion on becoming a massage teacher. I was lucky enough to have good teachers, but just like in college, there are some people that shouldn't teach.

Comment by Rick Rosen on November 28, 2010 at 8:17pm: Daniel,
What the Alliance is seeking to do is to establish (or support) foundational standards that can be utilized across the spectrum of therapeutic approaches and treatment philosophies. It's a whole-systems model, rather than the reductionistic paradigm in the mainstream health care delivery system. We need teacher training standards so that all students are taught by instructors who are as skilled in the art and science of teaching as they are the knowledgeable about the hands-on modalities they practice.

The same goes for entry-level curriculum standards. Rather than base definitions on modality-specific approaches, we need to anchor the common elements that are foundational to all approaches, and ensure that all beginning practitioners are competent in those elements. A big list of specialized applications or trademarked modalities will not serve the needs of the public, if the basic skill levels are found wanting. The Alliance is looking at all of these questions, and working to find the best solutions.

Comment by Daniel Cohen on November 27, 2010 at 1:52pm: In such an environment how do traditional modalities fit in the American landscape of trademarked specialization. We must be careful not to become the medical field we are an alternative for. We offer more in our diversity and mind, body, spirit, and environment approach. I hope in setting standards we don't limit this.