Alliance for Massage Therapy Education
Highlights of AFMTE Strategic Plan 2016- 17
Alliance for Massage Therapy Education (AFMTE) Mission and Vision:
The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education serves as an independent voice, advocate, and resource for the massage therapy and bodywork education community. Working from the principle that education forms the foundation of every profession, the Alliance supports strengthening and elevating educational standards in massage therapy and bodywork.
Core Function #1
Strengthen and improve massage education by providing educational information and opportunities to institutions, administrators, teachers, and continuing education providers (other than teacher certification).
We accomplish this by archiving CE courses on our website and selecting a CE and Classroom Educator of the Year.
Core Function #2
Provide a biennial conference for learning, networking and mutual support for AFMTE members and the massage and bodywork industry as a whole.
Our biennial Educational Congress is held in odd years like 2017, 2019, etc.
Core Function #3
Advocate with legislative and governmental agencies on teacher standards, continuing education, and other standards that support quality massage therapy education.
The AFMTE Board intends to activate a new committee to concentrate on the function of advocacy. This function has been fulfilled on an ad hoc basis up to now.
Core Function #4
Serve as the designated representative for massage therapy and bodywork education in cooperation with other stakeholders in the field, as well as organizations and regulatory bodies outside the field.
We accomplish this by representing the education sector to the Coalition of National Massage Therapy Organizations and by maintaining relationships with all of the other Coalition member organizations as well as relationships with other organizations within the massage and bodywork field and the health field in general.
Core Function #5
Develop educational standards and opportunities to inform and guide educators towards using research-based teaching and learning strategies for massage and bodywork education.
AFMTE works with the Massage Therapy Foundation and the Project to Enhance Research Literacy of the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health to develop research literacy in our schools and in our student and therapist populations. We also intend to develop curriculum and administrative standards in the future to fulfill this core function.
Core Function #6
Promote access to massage therapy and bodywork education for those who are seeking it, from entry-level training through postgraduate studies.
Our website fulfills this core function for our school and CE members. We intend to collaborate with other organizations within the massage and bodywork profession to market massage and bodywork to the public.
Core Function #7
Strengthen and improve the Alliance itself for long-term sustainability through avenues such as: increasing membership; refining member benefits and internal process; strengthening and expanding partnerships.
We are constantly seeking to improve our internal processes, our member benefits, and membership in general.
Core Function #8
Complete all phases of the National Teacher Education Standards Project (NTESP)
We created the Core Competencies for Massage Therapy Educators and are currently working to promote their integration into accreditation standards. COMTA recommends that schools utilize the Core Competencies in the training of faculty. We are currently working to expand and refine teacher resources on our website for classroom teachers, CE educators, and those who wish to develop massage teacher training courses. We have drafted an Assessment Table for the Core Competencies for teachers who wish to self-assess, for schools who wish to assess their faculty regarding the Core Competencies, and for other potential uses. We have two active committees working on the next two phases of the National Teacher Education Standards Project (NTESP). One is working on developing a Model Massage and Bodywork Teacher Training Curriculum template. The other is creating a portfolio review process for classroom educators and CE educators. The portfolio review process will establish a way for existing massage and bodywork educators to become certified educators without having to take an entire teacher training course and giving them credit for their teaching experience. There will be more to this process before it enters the final phase during which we hope to see teaching certification become more widely accepted and even part of education standards throughout the massage and bodywork field.
We invite you to complete the Volunteer Application if you would like to join the committee
Specific questions regarding the Strategic plan contact us directly.
Find out more about the Strategic Planning Committee:
Composed of a Chairman and a Board Liaison appointed by the President with the approval of the BOD and the assistance of the LDC and other members as needed. The SPC is charged with developing a Strategic Plan for the BOD of the Alliance that focuses on the main goals of the organization as well as other items that address the needs of the organization. The SPC is further charged with the periodic review of the Plan at the behest of the BOD.