The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education (AFMTE) announced today the results of a national survey on the formation of standards for teacher education, massage school curricula and continuing education; and the Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge. The AFMTE is an advocate and resource for massage therapy schools and educators.
Among the results:
• 82.0 percent agreed that national standards need to be established for massage-and-bodywork curricula in entry-level programs, versus 7.1 percent who disagreed.
• 80.4 percent agreed that competency-based national teacher education standards are needed, versus 6.8 percent who disagreed.
• 75.3 percent agreed there needs to be national standards defined for advanced-level training programs and certification in specialized areas of practice, versus 11.2 percent who disagreed.
• 53.5 percent indicated their agreement with the need for a single centralized approval program for continuing education providers and courses, versus 25.6 percent who did not agree that such a program was needed.
• 53.2 percent 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 5.2 percent who disagreed.
The Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge was created by a consortium of massage organizations, including the American Massage Therapy Association, Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals, the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, the Massage Therapy Foundation and the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork, and includes a definition of massage therapy; a description of the massage field in order to enhance understanding and appreciation of the profession by those outside the profession; a scope of practice for massage therapy; terminology; and knowledge, skills and abilities of an entry-level massage therapist.
The complete results of the AFMTE’s survey are available from the news section on the AFMTE’s website, at www.afmte.org.
Related articles
• Massage Professionals: Take the New Massage Educational Standards Survey
• Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge Task Force Releases Report