Nationally speaking. Directions for the future.

T his article places the Directions for the Future project on a continuum of interaction within the profession concerning the future of occupational therapy education and practice. Questions concerning the appropriate educational level for entry into the profession, the challenges of multiple practice environments, and research demands have confronted our profession through the years. We are now considering the characteristics required for future practice. In doing so, we are also considering the impact of the changing environment on the development of occupational therapy knowledge and on the application of that knowledge. We are taking the time today to ensure that the profession will be well prepared for tomorrow. The origins of the Directions for the Future project can be traced to the 1950s. Since then, numerous American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) task forces have examined entry level education for the profession. In 1963, a workshop on graduate education recommended entry at the master's-degree level (AOTA, 1963) In 1976, the Report of the Mental Health Task Force proposed that graduate education as the entry level into the profession occur by 1982 (AOTA, 1976), and in 1978, the Ad Hoc Committee on Education recommended that "the master's degree be considered as the point of professional entry into occupational therapy" (AOTA, 1978, p. 12). Once again, in 1981, a committee reviewed all routes of entry into the profession, but, unlike the previous groups, this one recommended no change at that time (AOTA, 1981) Not surprisingly, the issue arose again in 1984, when a resolution stating the need to resolve the question L. Randy Strickland