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From the beginning: The multiple realities of collaborative projects involving physical educators from schools and colleges
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of school and college physical education personnel concerning their participation in a school/college collaboration. The participants were asked to describe the initiation processes and activities of the partnership. Particular emphases was directed toward the participants' sense of ownership in the project. The study was accomplished by examining the perceptions of 24 school and college physical educators (15 public/private school teachers and 9 college representatives) involved in eight different collaborative projects. Semi-structured interview questions were grouped into categories derived from a review of literature which focused on collaboration between school practitioners and college faculty members. These included (a) the impact of perceived status differences among participants, (b) the negotiation of decision making processes, (c) participants' perceptions of project ownership, and (d) the consequences of inititation as a factor in project development. Data from the interviews were used to describe the multiple realities which exist when physical education teachers and college faculty members collaborate. Analysis of the data indicates that: (a) status differences were recognized among all participants, but this recognition did not interfere with decision making processes or feelings of ownership, (b) differing perceptions of project ownership, research priorities, and the ensuing benefits clearly reveal the multiple realities which exist in school/college projects, (c) teachers' viewpoints primarily focused on personal responses to events while college personnel focused on institutional ramifications, and (d) most participants paid little or no attention to the particular details of the initiation process.
Subject Area
Physical education
Recommended Citation
Coffin, Deborah Greenwood, "From the beginning: The multiple realities of collaborative projects involving physical educators from schools and colleges" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9120862.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9120862