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

 
Professional 
Development 
Programme 
Change 
in 
beliefs 
 
Change 
in 
learning 
 
Change 
in 
practice 
Teachers’ and 
children's 
perspectives of 
physical education 
changed 
 
Organisational 
changes 
Communication and 
collaboration 
Gain in confidence as 
knowledge expanded
Change in children's 
learning 
Teachers' knowledge 
systems expanded
Resource provision 
Support and positive 
pressure

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Chapter 8: Conclusions, Implications and Future Research 
This chapter starts with a brief summary of the study. The conclusions of the 
study are outlined, followed by discussion about how the findings relate to the broader 
issue of teaching physical education in Ireland. Finally the implications of these and 
recommendations for future research are considered.
The Study 
This research study was as a result of an increasing emphasis by the government 
on the need for professional development to support the implementation of the 1999 
revised primary curriculum. This encouraged a school staff, under the leadership of its 
Principal to seek out additional professional development in the area of physical 
education. Models of professional development have been shown to be effective in 
bringing about change in teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge which can in turn 
enhance children’s learning (Faucette et al., 2002; Keay & Spence, 2010; Petrie, Jones 
& McKim, 2007). However, there is a dearth of research examining the process of 
professional development programmes in primary physical education. The purpose of 
this research was to describe, analyse and understand teachers’ and children’s 
experiences of a contextualised, whole school professional development programme in 
primary physical education. Its specific objectives were to: 
Identify the practices, perspectives and needs of a group of primary 
school teachers in a main-stream, mixed, urban school in relation to 
physical education. 
Design a professional development programme in Outdoor and 
Adventure Activities, one of the six strands of the physical education 
programme. 
Evaluate the process and impact of the professional development 
implementation. 
Outline the implications and make recommendations for future 
programmes of professional development. 
The literature, as well as the researcher’s own experience, informed and guided 
the research design. Working from an interpretive perspective, influenced by social 

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constructivist theory, a case study methodology was chosen. The professional 
development programme planning and design was based on programme modelling, 
constructivist learning theory and the theory of cognitive apprenticeship. Throughout 
the study various methods of data collection were used to ensure all aspects of the PDP 
process and impact were evaluated (Caffarella, 2002; Craft, 2000; Guskey, 2000). The 
researcher in this study was also the facilitator of the PDP, which allowed for a richer 
exploration of the process as well as evaluating the impact of the programme.