Massage Student Motivation - Part 1

The second issue of the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork came out today and there was a very interesting article about the changes that massage students experience in motivation over the course of their program. I found it fascinating and it reflected a phenomenon that I have observed over the years in the classroom and in practice - particularly with the "jaded" massage therapists that are just in it for the money.

Here's the article:
A Qualitative Investigation into Why Massage Therapy Students’ Motivation Changes over the Course of Their Professional Education (and their license)

To summarize, the study is about why massage students' motivation changes from more intrinsic to more extrinsic over the course of their education. It takes place at only one school, with a small sample size, but the author recognizes this weakness, and from my observations in my classes the findings are accurate. Please note that I am commenting on this article and adding my observations - Paul Finch, PhD (the author) deserves all of the credit for the article and the pieces I quote from it.

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivations

First off, many massage students enter their massage programs with some "naive expectations", as Dr. Finch puts it. These expectations manifest as a desire to help others, an altruistic ideal about the work they are about to learn to do. The naivete isn't so much in the altruism as in that it isn't balanced by the realities of the profession they have yet to learn. Intrinsic motivation also comes from things like the satisfaction in the work being done and the self-esteem derived from being skilled and appreciated. IN-trinsic motivation is IN-ternal and given to yourself.

By extension, EX-trinsic motivation comes from rewards from EX-ternal sources. Of course those include compensation, the praise and recognition they get from happy clients, prestige, and more.

Past studies have shown that as a massage student progresses through their program intrinsic motivation decreases and extrinsic motivation increases. This study looked at why.

So Why?

Dr. Finch identified several themes prevalent in the study participants' responses. He describes them as follows:

Reality of Life in Practice

1. Debt Load
2. Effectiveness in Achieving Positive Health Outcomes

An Evolving Self-Image As a Health Care Professional

1. Rigor/Intensity of the Educational Program
2. Developing Perspective of Massage Therapy as a Career
3. Interaction with Faculty

Don't worry, I'll discuss each one of these in more depth in this series. I'll also introduce my perspective on how we as educators could use this information to foster this development appropriately and help our students leave our programs best prepared for a vibrant, healthy career. So let's get started!

On to part 2...

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