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

Conclusion 
The research design has been outlined at the beginning of this chapter, and a 
visual representation (Table 3.2) of the data collected is included here, including data 
collection methods, participants, frequency/duration of data collection and focus of data 
collection to aid the reader. The findings related to the study gleaned from the use of 
the selected methods outlined will be discussed in chapters four and six. 

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Table 3.2 Visual representation of data collection timeline and methodologies 
Timeline 
Study 
Purpose 
Participants 
Data 
collection 
Qualitative or 
Quantitative 
June 2006 
and 
September – 
December 
2006 
Understanding 
the case
(Study 1) 
Contextual 
information 
about the 
school, teachers, 
pupils and 
physical 
education 
programmes 
within the 
school 
Teachers (N=28) 
(N=19) 
Children (N=605) 
(N=48) 
School 
Questionnaire 
Focus Group
Questionnaire 
Focus Group
Physical Best 
Day 
Observations 
Field Notes 
Quantitative 
Qualitative 
Quantitative 
Qualitative 
Quantitative 
Qualitative 
Qualitative 
March - 
April 2007 
Process 
Evaluation of 
the 
Professional 
Development 
Programme
(Study 2) 
To investigate; 
the 
effectiveness of 
the PDP 
the 
appropriateness 
of the 
facilitation 
the impact of 
the work on the 
teachers and 
children 
Teachers (N=28) 
Children (N=48) 
O&AA lessons 
Focus Group 
Focus Group 
Observation/ 
SOFIT 
Field notes 
Qualitative 
Qualitative 
Quantitative 
Qualitative 
October – 
November 
2007 
Process 
Evaluation of
Stage 2 of the
Professional 
Development 
Programme
(Study 3) 
To evaluate; 
if support 
should be 
contextualised 
and sustained. 
if teachers’ 
knowledge 
systems were 
expanded 
if further 
support is 
required beyond 
that already 
provided and if 
so, to what 
extent. 
children’s 
learning 
following the 
O&AA unit of 
work. 
Teachers (N=27) 
Children (N=48) 
Principal 
O&AA Lessons 
Focus Group 
Self-efficacy 
scale 
Lesson 
evaluations 
Focus Group 
Semi-
structured 
interview 
Observations
Field notes 
Qualitative 
Quantitative 
Qualitative 
Qualitative 
Qualitative 
Qualitative 
Qualitative 
 
 

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Chapter Four: Understanding the Case 
This chapter will provide a detailed and analytical overview of the case, the 
study school. Contextual information about the school, the teachers, the pupils and 
physical education within the school are presented. This contextual knowledge was 
Phase 1 of the study and was used to inform the design and delivery of a physical 
education - professional development programme (PDP) to support teachers in their 
teaching of Outdoor and Adventure Activities. According to Patton and colleagues 
(2011) the role of a facilitator is ‘to be cognisant of what teachers bring to a learning 
experience and to provide them with challenging investigations in realistic and 
meaningful contexts’ (p. 7 - 8). The questions that this phase of the study addressed are 
as follows:
What is the participant teachers’ background? 
What is current teacher practice in relation to physical education? 
What are the teachers’ professional development needs? 
What are the children’s practices and perspectives on physical education 
and physical activity in the school? 
What are the children’s physical measurements? 
 
All teachers (N=28), and children (N=605) from senior infants to sixth class, in 
the study school provided participant and contextual information through the 
completion of self-report, researcher developed, questionnaires. This information was 
supplemented by focus group interviews with teachers (8 interviews) to perform a 
professional development needs analysis and explore further the outcomes of the survey 
findings, and with children (6 interviews) to establish children’s understanding of 
physical education and to elaborate on the survey findings. A physical best day was 
undertaken by all children from first to sixth class to establish health and fitness 
measurements. Field notes were also kept throughout each phase to further inform the 
study (Table 4.1). The purpose was to allow the researcher to have an in-depth 
knowledge and experience of the case study school.
The teacher data (qualitative and quantitative) were analysed and presented at 
the Physical Education, Physical Activity and Youth Sport (PE PAYS) Forum (2007) 
and the International Association for Physical Education in Higher Education (AIESEP) 
World Congress (2008). The results were also published in the PEPAYS Conference 

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Proceedings (Coulter & Woods, 2007). The children’s physical health data were 
presented at the PEPAYS Forum (Emerson, Coulter & Woods, 2007). The data from 
the children’s questionnaire were presented at the PEPAYS Forum (2008) and the 
Association for Physical Education (AfPE) Conference (2008) and was published in the 
PEPAYS Forum Conference Proceedings (Coulter & Woods, 2008) and the Journal of 
Physical Activity and Health (Coulter & Woods, 2011). All published articles are 
presented in the Appendices, in full, to allow the reader to understand the case in greater 
detail. The pertinent findings from these studies are presented in this chapter along with 
the findings from the researcher observations and the children’s interviews. It will 
conclude with an overview of how all of this exploratory data has informed the 
researcher about the case and how this will impact on the design of an appropriate 
programme for the school.
Table 4.1 Understanding the case