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ethos. I had experienced a programme which was not common practice in Irish
secondary schools at the time.
After secondary school I pursued an undergraduate degree programme, in Sport
and Leisure Studies and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (Physical Education).
On
graduating, I began my teaching career in a Northern Irish grammar school (second
level) where I introduced both GCSE and A-Level Physical Education. I began to
examine and moderate the Examination modules in my school, which led to further
professional development and collaboration with teachers undertaking similar
examinations in their schools.
While teaching in
Northern Ireland, I became part of a community of practice,
consisting of a number of physical education teachers from the locality. This group
shared many things from experience, to resources and sometimes just an understanding
ear for the problems we were sometimes faced with in our work.
The in-service courses
offered to me both as a physical education teacher and a teacher of examined physical
education, further opportunities for my own professional development. They instilled in
me the importance of professional development and teachers collaborating and learning
from each other and also the need for teachers to ‘go beyond’ the classroom and ‘stretch
ones wings’. During this time I completed a Masters (M.Sc.) in sport, exercise and
health which included education components. This
accredited professional
development, exposed me to a wide variety of literature and research as well as
opportunities to reflect and discuss research with fellow students and course lecturers.
Following re-location to the south of the country, I commenced work as a
lecturer in initial teacher education in primary physical education. Preparing students to
teach physical education in a primary setting coupled with designing and delivering
post-graduate courses for experienced teachers has allowed
me to identify the supports
that teachers need as they endeavour to plan and implement the physical education
curriculum within the larger context of the Primary Curriculum. Facilitating courses at
a third level college of education as well as under the auspices of Education Centres and
the Irish Primary Physical Education Association in all aspects of physical education,
has allowed me opportunities to become very familiar with
the content of the physical
education curriculum and how it can be adapted for a variety of contexts, which is
implicit in the primary sector. The courses I currently teach at third level provide pre-
service and in-service students with pedagogical knowledge of physical education, with
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particular emphasis on skills based process learning in an active learning environment.
Constructivist approaches to learning are utilised and students
are given opportunities to
discuss and reflect on various aspects of their courses. My professional experience and
engagement with research literature have provided me with a firm grasp of the issues
being investigated in this study.
This biographical detail is provided to situate myself in the study and illustrate
my professional profile which underpins the study and impacts the area under
investigation. Peshkin (1988) maintains that it is better that
researchers are aware of
their subjectivity and the role this subjectivity takes in research rather than assuming
that it can be omitted altogether. I acknowledge that being aware of my subjectivity
entails knowing the qualities I possess that will enrich the research as well as being
aware of ideas and beliefs I possess that could possibly distort my portrayal of the data.
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