National therapeutic recreation curriculum study part a: accreditation, curriculum and internship characteristics.

Therapeutic recreation curricula is linked to other professional activities that define the profession, such as accreditation, credentialing, and standards of practice. The purpose of this study was to examine the state-of-the-art in therapeutic recreation curricula in three areas: (a) accreditation, (b) curriculum, and (c) internship characteristics. The results showed that therapeutic recreation curricula were housed in diverse universities and departments that have unique characteristics. The majority of responding institutions held NRPA/AALR accreditation status, and most planned to continue to seek re-accreditation. There was very little uniformity in course offerings, although those universities offering 3, 4, and 5 required therapeutic recreation courses seemed to be the most parallel. Almost 94% of the institutions required that therapeutic recreation students complete internships under agency supervisors who were NCTRC certified. Several recommendations were made for therapeutic recreation faculty and the national organizations.