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

Limitations 
This programme of professional development took place in the real world in the 
context of an urban primary school in Ireland. In such circumstances experimental 
conditions are almost impossible to meet and therefore evaluating the relationship 
between the professional development programme and the teachers’ and children’s 
learning was very complex. It was also difficult to isolate cause and effect as this 
school was involved in other programmes of professional development during this 
study. These other programmes were part of the national roll-out of in-service of the 
1999 Curriculum in history, geography and drama.
The professional development facilitator was also the evaluator of the 
effectiveness of the PDP. While this has its limitations, for example, the potential of 
reporting bias, or teachers being subject to social desirability bias, the extension of the 
role of facilitator to evaluator provided a unique and valuable opportunity to i) witness 
teaching and learning first hand, and ii) modify the PDP, due to the changing needs of 
the teachers involved overtime. The process of data collection, analysis and write up 
had to be systematic, thoroughly reported and open to scrutiny (validated through peer 
review and triangulation) to minimise this potential for bias. This also ensured that the 
facilitator/researcher was informed about the PDP as it progressed and from analysing 
the results make any necessary changes to the PDP based on a richer understanding of 
the results. It also allowed the facilitator become more familiar with PSP design and 
will assist in the design of any follow-up or future PDP interventions. An external 

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evaluator usually evaluates outcomes and would not be familiar with the teachers, 
children or school context which could lead to a lack of in-depth understanding of the 
particular case.
The uniqueness of this study school context is a critical factor and what works in 
this context may not work in another context. Therefore generalisability of this work is 
limited. Teaching and learning is also complex and takes place in a variety of contexts 
within the same school. Therefore the best that can be achieved is to learn from the 
various programmes of professional development and try to devise the ‘optimal mix’ 
(Guskey, 1994; 2000) for the programme of professional development to suit the 
context. It is also necessary to be aware that the optimal mix requires flexibility as 
change occurs, as what works today may be different to what works next month, even 
within the same school as was experienced in this study. 
In spite of the limitations of the study, the research has successfully established 
the effectiveness of a programme of professional development aimed at improving 
teachers teaching of O&AA. The findings imply that: 
Teachers can teach a programme of O&AA which results in pupils’ 
learning following the provision of resources and external individualised 
support. 
The teachers’ voice is vital in any programme of professional 
development; this will inform planning and ensure teachers’ needs are 
met. 
Teachers and children’s conceptualization of physical education can be 
changed as a result of professional development. 
Teachers require dedicated time and quality professional development to 
support them in their daily work.