Teaching outdoor and adventure activities: an investigation of a primary school physical education professional development p

Data collection.
Mixed methods were used to investigate the effectiveness of 
the PDP at stages 1 and 2. The primary methods (Table 6.1) were qualitative and 
comprised of focus group interviews with the teachers and children within two weeks 
post the unit of work in outdoor and adventure activities; interview with the Principal, 
lesson observations and evaluations and field notes. Additionally, quantitative methods 
utilised were ‘System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time’ (SOFIT
2
) and teachers 
completed a self-efficacy questionnaire, examining their confidence to teach Outdoor 
and Adventure Activities (O&AA).
2
SOFIT is an objective tool for assessing the quality of physical education instruction. It is a comprehensive system 
that provides a measure of student activity levels, lesson context, and teacher behaviour during class time. SOFIT 
involves the direct observation of lessons by trained observers. The main focus of SOFIT is on the coding of student 
physical activity level and selected environmental factors (i.e. lesson context and teacher behaviour) that are 
associated with opportunities for students to be physically active and to become physically fit.

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Table 6.1 Data collected during the PDP Stage 1 (S1) and Stage 2 (S2) 
Method
 
Participant/s
 
Number
 
Semi structured interview
 
Principal
1 (S2)
Semi-structured focus-
group interview
 
Teachers
Children
28 teachers in 8 groups (S1)
27 teachers in 8 groups (S2)
40 children in 6 groups (S1&2)
SOFIT 
 
Self-efficacy questionnaire
 
Teachers/children 
Teachers
All classes (S1) 
19 (S2)