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

Rationale for Research 
The need for professional development for teachers in the European Union has 
been highlighted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 
(2005); ‘a lifelong learning perspective for teachers implies that in most countries much 
more attention will need to be focused on supporting teachers in the early stage of their 
career, and in providing the incentives and resources for on-going professional 
development’ (p. 132). This is reiterated on the international stage by Hardman and 
Marshall (2009) who highlight the lack of professional development in physical 
education in many countries across the world and indicate a need for greater investment 
in initial and in-service professional training for educators. With the introduction of 
physical education as a subject (previously it was known as ‘physical education and 
health education’) in Ireland in the 1999 Primary School Curriculum, provision of 
professional development specifically in physical education became necessary to ensure 
that primary teachers were confident and competent to teach this subject. Teachers 
expressed concern that the curriculum was overcrowded and with increased workloads, 
teachers’ time for planning and teaching physical education had been eroded (Irish 
National Teachers' Organisation, 2007)
.
Generalist primary teachers are challenged to 
have the pedagogical content knowledge to teach all twelve subjects including physical 
education in a newly designed curriculum; therefore, professional development is now 
more necessary than ever. The need for compulsory professional development has also 
been endorsed by Hardman (2007) who adds that for the primary generalist teacher 
professional development is not only essential but needs to be delivered with 
appropriate expertise and up-to-date content that is relevant to practice.
In the current climate of educational reform and investment in professional 
development there is a need for research designed to discover the features of effective 
professional development and to explore their impact on teachers’ and students’ 
knowledge and learning. Guskey and Yoon (2009) argued that ‘at this time, we simply 
have no reliable, valid and scientifically defensible data’ (p. 498) to support claims 
made about effective and ineffective professional development. In Ireland to date, 
much of the research on the professional development continuum has centred on initial 

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teacher education. Research in the area of professional development for primary 
teachers is scarce and in the area of primary physical education professional 
development even more so. According to Armour (2006, p. 204) ‘it could be argued 
that the existing research is rather patchy, and that we are left with more questions than 
answers about effective PE-CPD.’ Research in the area of primary physical education 
in Ireland to date identified inadequate facilities, time constraints and lack of training as 
the main barriers to the teaching of physical education (Broderick & Shiel, 2000; 
Cosgrave, 2006; Deenihan, 2005; Deenihan, 2007; Fahey, Delaney & Gannon, 2005; 
Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Science, 2005; Murphy, 
2007; Woods, Moyna, Quinlan, Tannehill & Walsh, 2010). Barriers to facilitating and 
attending professional development has some commonalities with teaching such as 
undertaking courses in one’s own free time, course location away from teachers’ school, 
cost, lack of resources and facilities to implement new knowledge (Armour, 2006; 
Armour & Yelling, 2004b; Deenihan, 2007; Irish National Teachers' Organisation, 
2007). In Ireland, national in-service and other types of in-service provision could be 
identified as ‘training models’ (Kennedy, 2005). This traditional form of professional 
development, although a starting point and a way of introducing new knowledge to the 
teacher, does not support the current research findings on effective professional 
development.
This study seeks to describe, analyse and understand teachers’ and children’s 
experiences, of a contextualised, whole school professional development programme in primary 
physical education. The primary research questions are: 
1.
Pre-implementation of professional development programme to determine: 
a.
What were the existing practices, perspectives and needs of a group of 
primary school teachers in a main-stream, mixed, urban school, in relation 
to the teaching of physical education?
2.
Post-implementation of a needs-based, contextualised, whole school 
professional development programme, to determine: 
a.
What aspects of the programme supported or impeded the teaching of 
a quality programme of physical education within the school? 
b.
How did the Principal’s, teachers’ and children’s practices and 
perspectives of physical education change, if at all, during, 

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immediately post and six months post the professional development 
programme? 
3.
Based on what was learned from 1. and 2. above, to determine how the 
future design and delivery of professional development programmes for 
primary teachers could be improved and developed further.