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

Chapter Seven: Discussion 
The purpose of this study was to describe, analyse and understand teachers’ and 
children’s experiences, of a contextualised, whole school professional development 
programme in primary physical education. In this chapter, the findings relevant to the 
evaluation of the effectiveness of the physical education professional development 
programme (PDP) in Outdoor and Adventure Activities (O&AA) and its impact on a 
school community described in previous chapters are discussed. Findings indicated that 
that, following analysis of the teachers’ and children’s experiences, the PDP was 
effective, with teachers changing their practice in relation to how they taught physical 
education. Teachers were willing and able to implement a programme of Outdoor and 
Adventure Activities, for their respective classes, exhibiting different levels of 
pedagogical content knowledge. The PDP impacted positively on children and their 
learning including their perceptions of physical education. The elements of the PDP 
design which contributed to the success of the programme along with those which need 
to be developed further will be discussed in light of known effective professional 
development and professional development programme evaluation. Evaluation is a key 
component of effective professional development and became part of the research 
framework and professional development programme design. Guskey’s (2000) 
evaluation model, described in the literature review, was selected to guide this study.
Each of Guskey’s five levels of evaluation was addressed through the data collection 
methods. The findings will be discussed using the propositional statements as a 
framework (Table 7.1), keeping in mind how they relate to evaluation model.
Table 7.1 Development of features of effective professional development
Propositional Statements 
Human and physical resource provision played a strong role in the adoption of the professional 
development programme by the teachers 
Support by an external expert through modelling, explaining and feedback impacted on teachers teaching 
For changes in teaching to happen, organisational changes are necessary
Teachers gained confidence as their knowledge systems expanded 
The professional development programme impacted positively on the children and their learning 
Communication and collaboration developed during the professional development programme 
Teachers’ and children’s perceptions of physical education began to change during the professional 
development programme 

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