Physical Education Teacher’s Professional Learning of Implementing a Health Promotion Intervention in the Practice of a Research Circle

Scholars recommend that health promotion researchers engage practitioners in the analysis and reporting phase and expand their ability to share their research beyond academia. The purpose of this study was to draw benefit from physical education (PE) teachers’ discussions and reflections of the implementation of a health promotion intervention in school during research circle meetings. The health promotion intervention ‘Pulse for Health and Learning’ (PuLH) focused on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, incorporating a child-centred coaching approach. This study has an action research approach. The research circle consisted of PE teachers (N = 22, approximately 18 per meeting) from eight primary and middle schools (from grades 4 to 9) in eight municipalities in Sweden and three researchers. The theory of ‘practice architectures’ was employed to interpret, discuss, and clarify what enables and constrain PE teachers’ implementation of the health promotion intervention. During the analysis, three discourses were identified: technical-rational discourse, participating discourse, and steering and supporting discourse. The practice architectures both enabled and constrained the implementation of PuLH. The research circle meetings stimulated critically conscious acting and decision-making through collaboration between PE teachers and together with researchers which improved the implementation of PuLH and contributed to PE teachers’ professional development.

Författare: Linn Håman, Katarina Haraldsson och Eva-Carin Lindgren

Physical Education Teacher’s Professional Learning of Implementing a Health Promotion Intervention in the Practice of a Research Circle

IntechOpen – From the Edited Volume Health Promotion