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

Positioning the Researcher in the Study 
As the professional development facilitator and researcher in this study, it is 
necessary to place myself within the research context. Qualitative research by its very 
nature can never be truly objective (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). A researcher’s beliefs and 
values perform a vital role in understanding what is taking place. According to Maykut 
and Morehouse (1994) values are embedded in research and are apparent in the way the 
researcher investigates the issues. My personal history includes a secondary education 
in a school with a rich and varied physical education programme and strong sporting 

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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.