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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
115
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
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