The Changing Role of the Physical Education Teacher - Case Study Example

The Wyre School Sport Partnership Programme The Changing Role of the Physical Education TeacherIntroduction Over the last decade in UK, there has been an increasing concern over young people's fitness level and the lack of success in sporting events. Youth has become a focus of the UK sport policy and many initiatives have been implemented to improve the overall status of sport in the country. As noted by Andrews (2005): "These days, it's almost a universal truth that young people don't do enough exercise." The School Sport Partnership Programme (formerly known as the School Sport Co-ordinator programme), is one such initiative aimed at increasing sporting opportunities for young people by developing and enhancing links between school Physical education (PE) and sporting opportunities in the wider community. The programme illustrates the government's attempts to create a collaborative approach between the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Education and Skills, as well as other key agencies. The emphasis on such initiatives has gained momentum only since 1990's. There have been major investments made in sport in schools, which reflect a commitment from the Blair and Major governments. The success of this programme rests to a large extent, with the PE teachers who serve as a distribution channel for this initiative. Their new role as School Sport Co-ordinator confers on them, managerial and leadership responsibilities that they have not handled before. How PE teachers perceive their new role, their reactions and reflections, will impact the success of the implementation process of the School Sport Partnership Programme. The challenge that is posed for the PE teacher in the changed scenario is to not just supervise lessons, but also promote physical education to students. If PE staff is to work as a catalyst to ensure the success of this initiative, then they need to be encouraged to adopt a broader view of physical activity behaviour and understand their role in PE promotion. This calls for a study that will generate ideas to help PE staff don on the new role, and will provide an insight into PE staff's ability to manage change and successfully accomplish the conferred responsibility of leadership. To obtain an insight into the perceptions of the PE staff, and understand how the interpretation of the policy by PE staff impacts the realization of School Sport Partnership Programme's objectives, a qualitative research is proposed at the Wyre School. The study will be ethnographic in nature, based on interviews and data gathered through observations. The study will also influence my own role as a Partnership Development Manager by offering an insight into the motivations of the team that I work with, which will help in better management of the team to achieve common goals. The final research report will be presented in the form of a thesis. Review of Literature Sport Partnership Programmes The School Sport Partnership Programme is the government's initiative designed to raise standards in schools through an improved and coordinated delivery of PE and sport. School Sport Partnerships bring together multiple schools, clubs, local authorities, national governing bodies of sport and other community organisations under one umbrella, to provide opportunities in sport for students. Thus it increases sporting opportunities for young people by linking school PE and sporting opportunities in the community. The philosophy guiding the initiation of this programme is that of social inclusion, which encourages participation in sports of all young people, and especially those who have been under represented. It is planned that by 2006, every school in England will be part of one of 400 partnerships. The partnership comprises: Full time Partnership Development Manager (PDM) Teachers from secondary school who take on the role of the School Sport Co-ordinator (SSCOs) (allocated two days a week) Teacher from primary school to become Primary Link Teacher (PLT) ( allocated 12 days a year) Hylton (2002, p.1) emphasizes the growing importance of partnership working in sports development: "National and local agendas are shifting so that, where partnership working was once a discretionary activity, it is now de rigeur". The number of sport initiatives is such, that it now poses a challenge to the success of these initiatives. The greatest challenge of school sport partnership lies in its ability to "to transform the quality and quantity of sport within schools, and in the community. Each partnership receives a grant of around 270,000 each year, and the teachers involved become part of a new partnership approach to PE and school sport, as physical activity is used to meet a variety of wider educational and developmental ends" (Barnet Council). Schools are positioned as the hub of the school sport partnership initiative and PE teachers play a key management role in this programme. Role of PE Teacher Traditional role of the PE staff has usually been a very peripheral one, owing to PE's disadvantaged position in the intra school market and perception that PE does not contribute to the broader education goals. This has created a sense of isolation among PE teachers. As noted by Sparkes et al (1993): "Teachers operate largely autonomously in their own classrooms or gymnasia, with very little chance to watch or work closely with other colleagues, and opportunities for in-service training and development are increasingly scarce. PE teachers in particular have often been isolated and somewhat marginalized from the mainstream educational decision-making in schools, a situation sometimes exacerbated by their physical location in school settings." This marginalizes PE teachers with hardly any role to play in decision making in schools. With the launch of the School Sport Partnership Programme, this stage is set to change. The thrust of this programme is to create time, for specific teachers in schools so that they can to devote themselves to development activities, and build partnerships with community sports providers. PE staff's traditional role of supervising and teaching has undergone a transformation with the launch of this programme. They now have to deal with the challenge of taking on managerial and administrative responsibilities, to ensure sport development for the youth. As noted by Penney: "teachers were reporting more meetings', much more paperwork ' and more admin' (see Penney 1994). It was also notable that in the light of the introduction of the National Curriculum in earlier' subjects and the perceived workload of the assessment requirements for the National Curriculum, the NCPE was expected to arrive' with considerable administrative demands" (1999, p. 96). PE teachers' success in this role and consequently the success of partnership programme, depends on their perceived value in the partnership. It is also worth pointing out that the opportunity for shared decision, is likely to be accompanied with reformulation of roles and authority exercised by teachers and administrators. Those already holding authority may not always welcome teachers' contributions. Hence it also becomes important to evaluate the power play in this context. So, the study will not only examine the perceived value of partnership programme among the teachers, and how they believe it impacts their career, but also illustrate the power play inherent in the new paradigm. Employee Perception Perception is an important reality in employee relations. It is said that employees react to perception and not to reality. So, what an employees perceive is what he/she acts on. Mc Connell (1994) states: "Employee perceptions are shaped by many factors, prominent among them organizational roles, supervisory styles, and communication styles." Even if employee perceptions are incorrect, an organization can rarely refuse to ignore them, since what an employee believes and reacts to, has an impact on organizational goals. This has a direct bearing on productivity targets. Hence it becomes necessary to manage perception. It is possible to control perceptions to a considerable extent through effective supervision. This calls for the supervisor, is aware of the power of perception understands what circumstances can cause misplaced perceptions learns how to manage employee perceptions to the extent possible approaches perception as the perceiver's reality Given that managing perception plays a crucial role in achieving common goals, and that a supervisor can play a critical role in influencing his team's perception, the proposed study gains considerable significance. I as the Programme Development Manager, on understanding the SSCOs current perceptions, can then influence them in a way that will help achieve the goals for School Sport Partnership Programme at Wyre School. The Conceptual Framework The implementation of the policy (School Sport Partnership Programme) is governed by how individuals involved at different levels of the policy delivery process, interpret the policy. It is possible that at each step, when the policy gets interpreted by key personnel, it also gets influenced by the context in which they make sense of the policy. Social, political and cultural environment influence the perception of individuals. So teachers' perceptions of their role as school sport co-ordinator, gets influenced by the different individual school contexts, the education authority and wider sport context. So, understanding of what the policy aims to achieve, may be interpreted quite differently at the top of the pyramid and at the bottom of the pyramid. This is diagrammatically explained in figure 1. This research will identify gaps between the objectives of the Sport Partnership Programme at the planning stage and what was finally achieved. The approach that will be used to identify this gap, is based on the understanding of the perceptions of PE staff involved at the implementation stage- how they interpreted their role and worked towards achieving policy goals. Research Question In view of the fact that PE staff's roles have changed, the study will assess: 1. Perceptions of the PE teachers involved in the first year of the School Sport Partnership Programme about their new role 2. Examine the challenges facing the implementation of the School Sport Partnership Programme by understanding the perceptions of the School Sports Co-ordinators (SSCOs) new role 3. Devising a plan that will ensure successful implementation of the partnership programme by effectively managing the perceptions of SSCOs 4. Examine the behaviour of SSCOs in the changed scenario and recommend organization behaviour strategies that will result in productive outcomes. Data Requirement Qualitative research is proposed for conducting the proposed study. This will require qualitative data to be collected which will be based on narratives, impressions, ideas, concerns and attitudes of SSCOs, interviewed and observed in various interactions. Such an approach is quite different from the more popular quantitative approach in research methodology. As pointed by Hoepfl (1997) while quantitative research uses "experimental methods and quantitative measures to test hypothetical generalizations" qualitative research uses "a naturalistic approach that seeks to understand phenomena in context-specific settings". Quantitative research seeks causal determination, prediction and generalizes findings whereas qualitative research seeks illumination and understanding. For the purpose of this research a semi-structured interview will be used for data collection. The interview structure will allow for probing and exploring within the predetermined inquiry areas. Data will include responses from SSCOs who will be the primary informants and their responses will provide the raw material for qualitative data generation. Observation of SSCOs in their interaction during meetings will also provide relevant data for analysis. Key themes and emerging patterns will be identified for analysis and interpretation. Research Method Use of Qualitative Research Methodology Since the purpose of the research is to gain an insight into the SSCOs perceptions, and explore and understand how perceptions are playing a role in the implementation of the School Sport Partnership Programme, the qualitative approach best fits the requirement. Qualitative methods seek a deeper truth. As pointed by Denkin and Lincoln (1994), they aim to "to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them"(cited by Greenhalgh and Taylor, 1997). I will be the researcher in this study and like in any qualitative research, will function as part of the natural setting. My role as a PDM will influence and get influenced in the research process and offer me valuable insight in managing my team. So unlike quantitative research, where the investigator is removed from the investigation, I remain part of the setting and by exploring my team's perceptions, hope to achieve common team goals. Another reason as to why qualitative research methodology is preferred over quantitative approach is that, little is known about the perceptions of PE staff and how it impacts the implementation of sport policy initiatives. Qualitative method allows better understanding of any phenomenon about which little is yet known, and is opted over the quantitative approach. Additionally, the proposed study also meets the other characteristics of qualitative research, which includes: Examining variables in their natural setting: The study proposes to examine the SSCOs perception of their roles in their own setting Interaction between variables: Observation in meetings allows to draw on concerns in the interaction between SSCO and the other members Interviewer is an integral part of the investigation: As a leader for the School Sport Partnership Programme I am linked strongly to the investigation Sampling Strategy While quantitative research uses the random and representative sample from a larger population, qualitative research seeks information rich cases, which have the scope of being evaluated in depth. Referred to as purposeful sampling strategy, the proposed study will undertake interviews with six SSCOs, five of whom are female. Interview Guide The interview will rely on open-ended questions based on three of the primary features of the programme: Primary liaison Developing school/club links Strategic development and the role of PE and sport in whole school development The interview guide is given below: 1. Do you look forward to your new role 2. There is a lot of liaison and relationship management involved in the new role and has reduced your scope to teach, how do you react to that 3. What do you have to say about the administrative responsibilities that you need to fulfill now 4. How was your experience in interacting with multiple partners in trying to raise funds and develop partnerships, especially in a competitive education market where PE has usually been so marginalized 5. Do you think the role has made you a leader and given you more control in terms of decision making 6. Do you think the role offers you enough latitude to help you develop partnerships 7. Do you believe that SSCO handbook and training programme is truly helpful in fulfilling your job demands Ethical Issues Since I am both the researcher and a colleague in the research setting, there is a chance that SSCOs responses may make them feel exposed once the research is over. This may happen, because it is possible that the research may give me access to information about the SSCOs that I would normally not be aware of. This is likely to have a complicating effect on my social relations with the SSCOs. To try and minimise such complications, a friendly approach will be used in the interview process and I will seek to gain the SSCOs confidence. Assurance will be given to the SSCOs that anonymity will be maintained in the thesis that is finally submitted. To preserve anonymity, wherever necessary, situation description will also be changed. Conduct Research A friendly approach will be adopted in conducting the interview to ensure that the research obtains the views that the SSCOs actually hold. SSCOs will be explained that the purpose of the interview is to better understand their concerns, hopes and anxieties in the new role so that as a manager I can help them achieve their individual goals and as a team we achieve the team goals. Audio records of the interviews will be gathered. A back up for tape recorder and tape will always be kept in case of any technical failure. The interview length may vary from 30 minutes - 45 minutes and will be conducted in June 2006. Observational Study Observational study will be based on the fortnightly meetings. The method involved will be that of Total Participation, which means that I as a researcher, will be a natural participant in the research setting. Field notes, which are running descriptions of settings, people, activities, and sounds will be maintained. Whenever extensive field notes cannot be gathered during observation, data will be gathered through jotting of notes and memos, which will be later, used to construct field notes. This will be done the same day soon after the observation is over. Wherever appropriate photographs will also be taken as a means of accurately capturing a setting. The observational data will also be gathered during June 2006. Interpretation of Results Bogdan and Biklen (1982) define qualitative data analysis as "working with data, organizing it, breaking it into manageable units, synthesizing it, searching for patterns, discovering what is important and what is to be learned, and deciding what you will tell others." Keeping this in mind the following process will be followed for interpretation of results: Step1- Reading through the entire data carefully to identify patterns in the words, phrases, behaviors, thoughts, and events recorded. Those that repeat and stand out will be noted/annotated. Interpretation of interview results and observation results will be reported separately to corroborate the findings later. Step 2- Data reduction and coding: A systematic analysis of data will be conducted by organizing comments into similar categories. The interpretation in this research will use the methodology suggested by Bogdan and Biklen (1982) who recommend "listing families of codes such as: setting/context codes, definitions of the situation codes, perspectives held by subjects, process codes, event codes, strategy codes, relationship and social structure codes, methods codes, and preassigned codes." Step 3-Synthesis: Once a list of coded categories has been created each segment of transcribed data will be allocated to relevant category. The statements made by all the SSCOs on a particular topic, can then be compared with one another, such as: did people who made statement A also tend to make statement B Attention will be paid to cases, which appear to contradict or challenge the theories derived from the majority. As the raw data is broken down an audit trail (a scheme for identifying data chunks according to their speaker and the context) will also be developed. After the categories are integrated and synthesized into a core set of categories, a narrative will be developed which will explain the properties of the categories, and the circumstances under which they are connected. This explanation of the phenomena (perception among SSCOs) under investigation will be the theory developed based on the data. It should perhaps be emphasized that unlike quantitative analysis which is usually the end point in a study, in qualitative research the analysis and theoretical statements which follow emerge from the data often influence the subsequent direction of the research. Findings The research will involve rich descriptive reporting as in any qualitative research, based on the interviews conducted and observations gathered. Qualitative research is often criticised for the degree of subjectivity and lack of rigour in the techniques used. However, qualitative researchers have developed techniques aimed at improving the reliability and validity of such studies. Data corroboration is one such technique and will be used in this study to ensure that the research findings accurately reflect people's perceptions, whatever they may be. To minimize bias in data collection, careful attention will be paid to gender influence in collecting and later interpreting the data. While ethnic issues do influence perception, this issue will be beyond the scope of this study. The following strategies will be used to counteract bias in the findings: Member checking: Obtaining SSCOs inputs to critically question the analysis Triangulation: A process whereby multiple perspectives are gathered so as to gain a more complete understanding of the phenomenon. In this research observational data analysis will be corroborated with the interview data analysis to ensure that findings reflect the real views of the sample. Bibliography Andrews, A. (2005) Giving Schools a Sporting Chance:Teacher's Magazine.Issue 37.Norwich:Department for Education and Skills.Available from: [Accessed 18 November 2005]. Ball, S.J. (1990) Politics and Policy Making in Education: Explorations in Policy Sociology. London:Routledge. Barnet Online. School Sport Coordinator Programme (SSCO)[Online]. 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New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India. Sparkes, A., Schempp, P. and Templin, T. (1993) Exploring dimensions of marginality: reflecting on the life histories of physical education teachers, Journal of Teaching in PhysicalEducation, 12, p. 386-398. Read More