Comments on: Changing from Tacit to Explicit Requirements http://www.ramblemuse.com/rmtp/2007/07/14/changing-from-tacit-to-explicit-requirements/ Perspectives on Life, the Universe, and Everything from a Physicist, Massage Instructor, Father, Dancer, Runner, ... Sun, 29 May 2011 20:03:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: keg http://www.ramblemuse.com/rmtp/2007/07/14/changing-from-tacit-to-explicit-requirements/comment-page-1/#comment-2164 keg Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:00:27 +0000 http://www.ramblemuse.com/rmtp/2007/07/14/changing-from-tacit-to-explicit-requirements/#comment-2164 David, By far the majority of requirements placed on students and on schools are procedural. I've previously <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ramblemuse.com/blogger/documents/NCBTMB_elegibility.html">critiqued the prerequisites</a> set by the NCBTMB for certification. Most states will simply require hours at a state-approved school and/or independent certification. Some will add requirements for hours in specific topic areas. A student may need to store enough memorized facts and have sufficiently developed multiple choice test-taking skills to pass an exam. Such knowledge, however, does not have to reach the point of being usable in practice and most often doesn't. The states themselves are most often concerned with schools making true statements of facts and requiring record-keeping on expected attendence. There normally are requirements for placement rates for vocational schools, but these are often relaxed for massage — largely because massage training has traditionally not led to employment but toward developing an independent practice. For career colleges that teach to multiple professions, the likelihood is that they will keep good records on attendence and financial aid and that they will teach to the state-mandated entry requirements. By-and-large, there is little agreement on what should uniformly constitute “core massage” in a manner that leads to specific, evidence-based outcomes of training. Thus, those framing the “appropriate” requirements for legislators left them vague and general. The assumption was that we were just adding didactic requirements to the kinesthetic skills everyone already tought — an assumption of mixed explicit and tacit requirements. The reality is that the explicit requirements will replace the tacit one; they thus need to be complete in themselves. The currently are a far cry from that. — KEG David,

By far the majority of requirements placed on students and on schools are procedural. I’ve previously critiqued the prerequisites set by the NCBTMB for certification. Most states will simply require hours at a state-approved school and/or independent certification. Some will add requirements for hours in specific topic areas.

A student may need to store enough memorized facts and have sufficiently developed multiple choice test-taking skills to pass an exam. Such knowledge, however, does not have to reach the point of being usable in practice and most often doesn’t.

The states themselves are most often concerned with schools making true statements of facts and requiring record-keeping on expected attendence. There normally are requirements for placement rates for vocational schools, but these are often relaxed for massage — largely because massage training has traditionally not led to employment but toward developing an independent practice. For career colleges that teach to multiple professions, the likelihood is that they will keep good records on attendence and financial aid and that they will teach to the state-mandated entry requirements.

By-and-large, there is little agreement on what should uniformly constitute “core massage” in a manner that leads to specific, evidence-based outcomes of training. Thus, those framing the “appropriate” requirements for legislators left them vague and general. The assumption was that we were just adding didactic requirements to the kinesthetic skills everyone already tought — an assumption of mixed explicit and tacit requirements. The reality is that the explicit requirements will replace the tacit one; they thus need to be complete in themselves. The currently are a far cry from that.

— KEG

]]> By: David McQuillan http://www.ramblemuse.com/rmtp/2007/07/14/changing-from-tacit-to-explicit-requirements/comment-page-1/#comment-2152 David McQuillan Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:34:55 +0000 http://www.ramblemuse.com/rmtp/2007/07/14/changing-from-tacit-to-explicit-requirements/#comment-2152 Hi Keith, What are the explicit standards that you speak of? I'm not really familiar with US massage education. You seem to be saying that state requirements for registration or licensing tend to be limited to number of hours of training (more or less). Are there other explicit standards that US massage schools need to meet? Hi Keith,

What are the explicit standards that you speak of? I’m not really familiar with US massage education.

You seem to be saying that state requirements for registration or licensing tend to be limited to number of hours of training (more or less). Are there other explicit standards that US massage schools need to meet?

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