Founded in 1966, PADI® (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is a professional organization that focuses on the training of scuba divers and scuba diving instructors. PADI's goal is to promote the training and education of the public in the proper techniques of recreational underwater activities and the advancement of those activities.
PADI Worldwide is a privately held corporation that is international in scope with service offices and distribution centers in Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. PADI Worldwide’s corporate headquarters is in California, United States. PADI Regional Headquarters support the efforts of more than 128,000 individual professional members and over 6,600 PADI Dive Centers and Resorts in more than 186 countries and territories. PADI Professionals have issued more than 29 million certifications around the world. To serve the needs of divers worldwide, translations of some PADI materials are available in at least 26 languages.
PADI Members are employed as supervisory personnel, instructors, and retail and resort staff. They include PADI Divemasters and Assistant Instructors, who have completed courses allowing them to perform limited teaching activities and primarily act as supervisory personnel during diving instructional activities conducted by fully qualified PADI Instructors. PADI Instructors include PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors, Master Instructors, and Course Directors (instructor trainers). These members have completed specific qualification programs allowing them to teach the public how to scuba dive and, in the case of the Course Directors, train instructors.
To become PADI instructors, qualified individuals must complete training programs specific to the type of PADI courses they wish to teach. Experienced scuba divers who wish to become PADI instructors must complete a series of instructor preparation and evaluation courses.
The PADI method of diving instruction is based on progressive training in the classroom, pool, and open water. All PADI courses are developed in terms of demonstrable student performance. PADI course materials employ the concepts of mastery learning based on student-centered objectives, and the curriculum is performance-based rather than time-based.
Students are certified as PADI divers when they master all cognitive and motor-skills performance objectives. Students who have not demonstrated an acceptable level of performance typically matriculate to another course or begin remedial training with the instructor until they can meet all cognitive or motor-skill performance requirements. PADI monitors instructor ethics, teaching methods, and course equipment to uphold PADI training standards and maintain records on all PADI courses conducted.
http://www.padi.com