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

Interpretivism.
Interpretivists believe that the human world is different from 
the natural world and therefore requires its own paradigm (Schwandt, 2003).
Fundamental to interpretivist thinking is the work of Weber and his emphasis on 
‘verstehen’, that is, the empathetic understanding of human behaviour in its own context 
(Sarantakos, 1998; Schwandt, 1994). Interpretivists assume that humans are unique and 
consequently prioritise ‘…the real world of first-person, subjective experience’ 
(Schwandt, 1994, p. 119). Reality is assumed to be ‘…in the minds of people; … is 
internally experienced, is socially constructed through interaction, and interpreted 
through the actors and is based on the definition people attach to it’ (Sarantakos, 1998, 

---

9 
p. 35). Interpretivists accept that reality is dynamic and is constantly changing. In 
interpretivism the goal is to form a close relationship between the researcher and the 
researched (Holloway & Wheeler, 2002). Research is usually carried out in natural 
settings, using observational methods or in-depth interviews. Interpretivists assume 
data have primacy; they approach reality through description (Holloway & Wheeler, 
2002; Sarantakos, 1998; Schwandt, 2003). Interpretive researchers differ as to whether 
language or context is of greater importance in the construction of meaning (Harper & 
Hartman, 1997). Initially this paradigm appeared to provide the most appropriate 
framework for this study; the study site was a natural setting (i.e. the school), both 
observation and interviews were the main form of data collection; a close relationship 
was to be formed between the researcher and the researched. It was still unclear if the 
knowledge was subjective and whether it was purely intrinsically experienced, so a 
review of constructivism was required.