1. Profile of Undergraduate and Graduate Therapeutic Recreation Curricula
Chapter 8
HPR 453

2. Intro Undergraduate Education Bedrock of the profession
Related to credentialing and Standards of Practice
Linked to entry level knowledge
Must be high quality, up to date with content, processes, trends

3. History of TR Education
1937 – Specialty Area – 1st conference on the College Training of Recreation Leaders
40’s and 50’s – Core curriculum of graduate studies in hospital recreation
Concern about lack of consistency and quality in TR education content
Agreement on entry-level knowledge but not how it is packaged and delivered (design and content)

4. “produced like homemade jelly and marketed like Smucker’s jam”
Each program has its own recipe
Research concluded:
Institution and Department Characteristics varied
Most at state colleges and universities (state $$$)
Faculty Characteristics – varied greatly – Bachelor to Doctoral degrees – some not certified and/or members of professional associations (ATRA, NTRS) – large amount of adjunct faculty

5. How are students recruited?
Student characteristics – most female, Caucasian, and employed full or part time
How are students recruited?
What could be done to recruit more minority ethnic groups into the profession? (Many diverse patient populations served)
Accreditation Characteristics – Why accreditation?
Indicates quality
Supports mission of the university of improving curriculum
Helps recruit potential students

6. Curriculum Characteristics
Provides competitive edge over similar programs in state and region
Supports mission of improving curriculum across the country
Curriculum Characteristics
TR coursework requirements has increased – 19 to 24 hrs
Most popular supportive coursework – psychology/counseling, exercise phys / anatomy / kinesiology and health education

7. Most anticipated changes
Online course offerings, Internship hrs increased, adding more TR courses, adding more assignments to TR courses, adding more supportive coursework
Many did not meet NCTRC requirements for # of TR courses – Most common courses were Intro, Principles and Practices, Program Planning and Design, Leisure Ed/Facilitation Techniques
Internship characteristics - # of internships varied (1-2), # of weeks and hours varied, cert of site and university supervisor varied – usually required site supervisor to be certified (94-98% in 1996 to 2003)

8. Conclusions What does this all mean????
How does Southern Miss compare?