Theme Teacher Children Field Notes O&AA is
inclusive
‘They are always talking
and encouraging and
there was no arguing
which I often find I have
problems with in teams
or maybe it was just the
dynamic of it and they go
off together.’ (FGT
3
)
‘It was inclusive,
everyone was included,
that was the whole thing
about it.’ (FGT
6
)
‘I think maybe some
people would like
orienteering more and they
get more involved because
everyone can do it at the
same time rather than in
team games sometimes
people say oh you are
really bad and they think
they are no good and when
they get the ball they won’t
pass it to you or anything
and …you might just be
standing there for ages.’
(FGC
3
)
‘During the intervention
from start to finish no
child sat out of any
lesson. I didn’t notice
this until the Principal
made the comment that
he hadn’t seen a child
sitting out – a sight he
was used to prior to
O&AA programme.’
(FN)
Maintaining rigour. A clear audit trail of the data collection and analysis
procedures included keeping a full record of all activities while carrying out the
research, through the systematic recording of field notes each day, the safe storage of all
raw data (including questionnaires, digital recordings and transcriptions) and details of
all coding were logged in a coding journal within NVivo. The systematic coding of
qualitative data using NVivo provided a clear audit trail of the analysis highlighted in
appendices Ki-Kiv. Following focus group interviews, three of teachers were given
transcribed copies of the focus group interviews and asked to reflect if they were a true
and accurate account of the proceedings and none suggested changes in the information
provided. Checks were used with teachers regularly throughout the interview process
and lesson observations to ensure that the researcher’s perceptions of the teachers’
responses or actions were as the teachers intended. Throughout the study the researcher
also attempted to consider alternative explanations for some of the responses made
during interviews, for example, when one group of children felt they had too many
O&AA lessons, it was in fact due to the number of weeks they seemed to be having the
lessons. Although the class only experienced 6 lessons of O&AA they did so over a
nine week period which included their mid-term break and a day where the class went
109
on a school outing, making it seem like they had the lessons much longer than some of
the other classes.