Title: From insider to outsider and back again: a self-study of being and becoming acurriculum specialist in physical education
Abstract: The purpose of this research was: (1) to capture my lived experiences as a curriculum
specialist attempting to enact change, (2) to investigate how my identities as a curriculum
specialist shape my lived experiences and how those lived experiences shape my identity
and (3) provide insights into a curriculum specialist’s practice through self-study. Given
that little is known about the work and lived experiences of a curriculum specialist, in
particular, less is known about the identities of those who work in curriculum
development and how their identities influence their daily practice (You, 2011). It is in
these gaps that this study is situated thus will add to the limited body of research.
This study was conducted over a 17-month period where I actively engaged in
conversations with a critical friend who challenged and/or supported my assumptions.
Data collection involved personal journal entries (n=39,529 words), emails, field notes
from conversations with a critical friend, and artifacts and other forms of text. The
analysis of data comprised of building and sifting through themes, inductive coding,
synthesizing, organizing, inquiring questions and answers, insights into self, and looking
for patterns for the purpose of discovering my findings (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). I
looked at problems through multiple lenses and angles, which brought about a
crystallization of the data and balance to this self-study that in turn, will ensure the
element of trustworthiness and ‘ring true’ to those who read it
Several themes were identified from the data: how I came to develop a newly
shaped view of who I was as a curriculum specialist; contrasting insider and outsider
identities, tensions in coming to identify as a curriculum specialist, becoming a
curriculum specialist, importance of critical friendship, establishing metaphors for my identity, from being a physical educator and becoming a curriculum specialist. This
research also demonstrates the value of self-study on processing identification in being
and becoming a curriculum specialist.
By sharing the resulting findings from this research, others can learn from the
insights about my practice as a curriculum specialist and the processes of curriculum
development, and identity while using self-study research.
Publication Year: 2017
Publication Date: 2017-10-01
Language: en
Type: dissertation
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