Teacher Standards
Central to the mission of the Alliance is the commitment to strengthen and improve the quality of massage therapy education. In support of this, the Alliance has begun work on a comprehensive effort called the National Teacher Education Standards Project (TESP). The initial phase of the project involves developing and implementing competency standards for teachers, which will be broadly applicable across the continuum of entry-level, continuing education and advanced training programs. Overall, the goal of the TESP is to create a culture of teaching excellence in our field.
While educational and testing requirements are commonplace for the licensure of massage therapists, there are few jurisdictions that currently require instructors of massage therapy to have specific training in the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) of teaching. As a result, the majority of teachers in this field have not been trained to teach. Knowing how to give a competent massage requires a different skill set than what is needed to teach massage therapy and related subjects.
As an organization comprised of passionate and committed educators, the Alliance has chosen to address this need in a proactive manner – and will provide the leadership and experience necessary to create and implement these standards over the coming years. In this way, the role of the Alliance is consistent with similar projects that independent education organizations have achieved in other professions.
A national survey conducted in November 2010 by the Alliance indicated strong support within the educational community for this initiative. 80.4% of respondents agreed that competency-based national teacher training standards are needed, while 6.8% disagreed. (A complete survey report is available from this link.) This data is consistent with feedback from educators and industry leaders who attended the Alliance’s inaugural conference in June 2010, where the lack of teacher education standards and resources was a prime topic of discussion.
The National Teacher Education Standards Project (TESP) will be carried out through a progression of five phases:
- The Alliance’s Professional Standards Committee is currently developing the Core Competencies for Massage Therapy Teachers. A first draft of this document was sent to Alliance Members for review in advance of the 2011 Annual Conference in Charleston, SC on August 18-20, 2011. At this meeting, discussion forums were held to receive feedback from the education community on the proposed standards. Following the Conference, the Committee is reviewing both verbal and submitted written comments, and a second draft will be made available for public comment by the massage therapy field. This last round of input will be considered as the final document is prepared for adoption.
- Once the standards are defined in the competencies document, a model teacher training curriculum will be created as a recommended template.
- That will lead to the next phase, which is the identification and development of teacher training resources.
- To create a way for teachers to demonstrate they have achieved the competencies, a voluntary certification program will be established.
- The final step will involve working with national accrediting commissions and state regulatory agencies to incorporate these teacher education standards.
Overall, it’s estimated this project will take 5-10 years.
The Alliance has published a white paper that gives the background, scope and rationale for this project. It also contains a more detailed description of each of the five phases with projected timelines. As this project progresses, there will be opportunities to review and make comment on proposed standards before they are formally adopted.
According to Alliance President Pete Whitridge, LMT, “It is an act of self-determination and empowerment for the teachers, administrators, school owners and continuing education providers that comprise this community to join together to work for the greater good. This project will require diligent work, respectful dialogue and a willingness to address the shortcomings of massage education without blame or judgment. Improving the quality of teaching in the massage therapy field will improve the success of students in massage programs and continuing education seminars. This process, by its very nature, will improve the quality of massage therapy delivered to the public. That’s the payoff for this bold endeavor.”
