McCabe, J. and Palmer, C.

(2007) An application of ethnographic method in an investigation into girl’s attitudes

towards trampolining in Physical Education. Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies. 1, 1, 77-88.

An application of ethnographic method in an investigation into

girls attitudes towards trampolining in Physical Education.

Jacqueline McCabe and Clive Palmer

(Sports Studies, Liverpool Hope University)

Abstract
This paper presents how data collection strategies within ethnographic field research
were used in the school setting to learn more about student’s attitudes in Physical
Education (P.E.). In particular, the researcher was interested to understand the views
of secondary school girls towards trampolining as part of their P.E. lessons, and to-
wards participating in the after school Trampoline Club. Ethnographic method was
used to conduct fieldwork and present data utilising a range of participant observa-
tion opportunities including covert and overt observations and recorded interviews
with both the students and the P.E. teachers. A key question for the researcher at the
start of the study was, is trampolining just another thing to do or does it contribute
something positive to a student’s education? The results indicated that overall, the
girls had mainly positive attitudes and opinions about doing trampolining in school
with common themes supporting this emerging throughout the study. For example,
for most of the students trampolining was seen as a fun activity which provided a
sense of enjoyment and importantly, a sense of achievement in a structured but re-
laxed atmosphere - regardless of pupils ability level. This was a significant finding
which gave rise to a number of questions about the purpose of trampolining in P.E.
and highlighted the dissonance between students perceptions of an activity and its
educational merits.

Introduction – trampolining in P.E.

It is compulsory for pupils to attend P.E. lessons until the age of 16 (year 11 end of Key
Stage 4). However, although P.E. is compulsory, some research by Laker (2003) has
suggested that it might be regarded by students as being of lower importance com-
pared to other curriculum areas such as Math’s or English. For example, Laker stated
that, “…P.E. is seen by some students as irrelevant and uncontextual” (2003:169).
This may indicate that for some pupils, P.E. could be described as being simply a list
of activities that they have to take part in during lessons in school. That is, students
appear to be physically occupied but it may be questionable whether they are actually
learning anything of educational value. This may be because there is no clear focus on
what P.E. should be, as Capel and Piotrowski (2000) point out, there is not a definition
or agreement as to what Physical Education is, although there are guidelines to what

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should be included in P.E. lessons. One activity that can be included is trampolining
which in some schools forms part of the Physical Education curriculum. Research-
ing students attitudes towards P.E. (such as Luke and Sinclair, 1991; Graham, 1995)
could form an important part of a teacher’s understanding as to why pupils like doing
certain activities in P.E., such as trampolining and dislike others.
The researcher currently has a active interest in the sport of trampolining and is also
progressing onto PGCE Initial Teacher Training for P.E.. Consequently the research
ideas at the start of this study are personally and professionally grounded and have
stimulated an interest to investigate the following points:
1. To find out the attitudes and opinions of girls towards taking part in tram-
polining at school.
2. To investigate the types of physical activity that girls prefer to take part in.
3. To look at the attitudes of girls towards the PE curriculum in general.

Methodology – gaining an insight into the lived experience

According to Denzin (1997:3) ethnography is the “form of inquiry and writing that
produces descriptions and accounts about the ways of life of the writer and those
written about”. In other words ethnographic method involves collecting certain kinds
of data that yields detailed information on what is actually happening at that time in
certain situations or environments. Ethnography means literally producing accurate
accounts or information that provides the researcher with a picture of the ‘way of life’
of some identifiable group of people (Wolcott, 1998). Significantly, the ethnographic
process seeks to develop more in-depth insights about a targeted culture or group.
Conducting some form of participant observation can help to provide this as, accord-
ing to Stewart (1998) the first characteristic of an ethnographic study is Participant
Observation. This allows the researcher to engage with the field environment in dif-
ferent ways. For example, in either, a close-up involvement in the situation or activity
by taking on some form of participative role in the natural setting - such as acting as
a coach assistant, or by taking a more distanced perspective, such as from a viewing
gallery where the researcher has no active role in the situation being observed.
Students from two schools in the North West of England participated in the study;
they ranged across Key Stage 3 and 4. A total of ten trampoline lessons and six after
school trampoline sessions were observed in each school. Using the participant ob-
servation model (Hammersley and Atkinson, 1995) the research started with obser-
vations in P.E. lessons and at the after school trampoline club, at both schools. These
strategies to record and analyse data allowed findings to emerge progressively and
helped to develop new theories to guide the study further on. In this manner discov-

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eries were grounded in the data, stemming from observations and interviews.
This field research centred on gathering information about girls attitudes towards
trampolining. Unlike positivistic methods, ethnographic methods allow the re-
searcher to ‘get close’ to the subjects in question as Grills (1998:16) suggests “…by
‘getting close’ ethnographers provide a texture, an immediacy, and a depth of under-
standing that cannot be attained by research strategies that keep the social world at
arm’s length”. In other words, if the research takes place outside the field of study such
as sending out questionnaires, it may be less effective for gathering data about other
people’s view of the world. Attitudes are often influenced or reinforced by an indi-
vidual’s beliefs and feelings towards a particular situation which may lead to certain
behavioural intents. Therefore, student’s attitudes might often be linked to the value
they place upon the activity at the time of doing it and could be seen as relatively sta-
ble dispositions. Because attitudes can be dependent on individual perceptions of the
situation, they cannot be measured directly but can be noted from their observable
behaviour (Wesson, Wiggins, Thompson and Hartigan, 2000). Consequently, engag-
ing in observations were seen as appropriate methods to obtain the data required for
this study.

The research setting and participants

The Head of girl’s P.E. in the two Secondary schools gave their permission for the pu-
pils to be observed in lessons and to participate in the study of trampolining within
their schools. The classes were selected by the two school teachers according to the
P.E. activity timetable. The participants were all female comprising girls from year
groups 7 to11 (aged 11-16). They all had different ability levels and experience of
trampolining. Participants in the observations consisted of twenty Year 11 pupils,
fifteen Year 8 students and fifteen Year 9 pupils.

Method - data collection

Before each phase of data collection informed consent was obtained from both the
teachers and from students to indicate their willingness to take part in the study.
All participants were informed of the purpose of the study and were assured that
all information and data collected would remain confidential. Participant’s identities
were protected by pseudonym in the observation sheets and transcripts. All data col-
lection took place within the gymnasium in one school and in the sports hall of the
other school. The class teachers were present at all times while the research was tak-
ing place. The questions that were used in the later interviews with the students were
shared with the class teachers before the interviews. This act of verification helped to
keep the teachers informed of the progress of the study and seemed to involve them

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more positively in the research as it developed. This in turn helped to create more
trust between the researcher and the P.E. teachers who authorised access to classes
and individual students. The interview questions were developed from the data col-
lected through observations of classes and clubs, at which the teachers were always
present.

Observations and Note Taking – more than just watching

The first data collection method was structured observation within the school setting
which involved the researcher undertaking a range of roles during the trampolining
lessons. That is to say, that observations were carried out from different points on the
participant observation spectrum where students might react to, and interact with
the researcher differently. The structure of recording field notes are outlined first fol-
lowed by a discussion of the social roles around participant observation which might
affect what could be observed and recorded in a given situation.
Firstly, a field work observation structure suggested by Schatzman and Strauss (1973)
was adopted and the notes from each observation were recorded under the following
three headings: Observational Notes, Theoretical Notes and Methodological Notes.
Under Observational Notes the context of the situation was noted with a descrip-
tion of what was going on at the time. For example, how the students in the class
were interacting with the teacher and their peer group, the general atmosphere of
the lesson and any comments made during the lesson by the pupils. These notes were
handwritten during the lesson. To minimise the impact of observing (the sense of be-
ing watched) and note taking the researcher appeared at first to be a trainee teacher
sorting out her file and writing lesson evaluations. The students were accustomed to
this kind of presence in many of their lessons.
Example of Observation Notes (Observation 1 - P.E. lesson):

• all students helped each other throughout the lesson

• quite a noisy session but students who are spotting seem to be concentrating.

• co-operative with teacher, particularly when she is coaching someone

• relaxed and enjoyable environment/atmosphere

• comments like “I did it” or “miss can we get on now” all showing a sense of enjoy-
ment.

Theoretical Notes included making notes of any theories or inferences that came to
mind during the sessions that could give explanations for the way in which the pupils
behaved at that particular time. For example a section of the field notes made during
Observation 4 read as follows:

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Example of Theoretical Notes (Observation 4 - After School Trampoline Club):

• The pupils were constantly chatting to each other during the activity -could have
been conversations about the activity or about what they had done in school that
day as this was an after school club.

• There is a different structure to this “club” compared to the lesson” – the teacher’s
interaction is different (less strict?) - Student’s response is different more relaxed – is
it seen as their time to do as they please?

• This is not quite a youth club but not quite a PE lesson either – what am I observing
here?

• The role of the teacher here is clear at one level – to facilitate/provide the club – and
she seems to have a really good rapport with the students. I don’t think a sport tram-
poline coach would put up with the lax attitude and atmosphere – compared to my
own training experiences – competition demands.

• If the teacher is really teaching in this after school club when the atmosphere is
different, what is she doing during the day? – when the atmosphere and their role
changes to a more authoritative one?

Methodological notes were also made during the observations, which took into ac-
count the impact on the data resulting from the researcher’s position and level of in-
teraction they could have in a given situation. The notes should briefly indicate what
the researcher can do and cannot do and how bias and weaknesses in the data might
be created. For example, the following is a section of methodological notes from an
early observation where the researcher’s role was “complete observer”, the positive
and negative aspects of this were noted.
Example of Methodological Notes (Observation 1 – P.E. lesson):

+ve - not interrupting the lesson environment – I am able to see what they do naturally
in their class – although some are aware that there is a stranger sat on a bench appar-
ently doing nothing which may make them act differently. How could I still get such a
good view but not be detected?

-ve - don’t get to hear what the pupils are saying unless they are shouting loud. I am too
far away, but if I get closer their behaviour might change.

When carrying out each observation it was important to note the social role the re-
searcher was engaged in as part of the participant observation spectrum, that is, from
being a “complete observer” to a “complete participant” in the trampolining lesson.
Hammersley and Atkinson (1995: 99-109) explain the application of four types of
theoretical social roles in participant observation, detailing the possible consequenc-

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es for the researcher and the data in each case. These roles, in the context of this
research on girls attitudes toward trampolining, are explained below:
1. Complete participant - the researcher takes part in the trampoline ac-
tivities as a coach or, in a teaching assistant role. Aim – to become ac-
cepted as part of their ‘natural setting’– complete involvement.

2. Participant as an observer - the researcher participates in the trampo-

line activities but the students are aware that my presence may only be
short term; helpful interactive but not ‘one of them’ – comparative in-
volvement.

3. Observer as a participant - the researcher is present during the trampo-

line sessions and may make occasional contributions to the activity – al-
lowing the researcher to observe and record – comparative detachment.

4. Complete observer - the researcher does not engage in the activity with
the group – the main research task was to observe the trampoline activ-
ity and record.
This framework was used to indicate the social role of the researcher in each observa-
tion of trampolining whether in P.E. or after school club. Each level of participant-
observation altered the level of interaction that the researcher had with the students
being researched. Consequently, this had an impact on the data in a significant way
which is to do with, recognising researcher bias (Bailey, 2007; Silverman, 2005; Ham-
mersley and Atkinson, 1995). The close proximity of the researcher (as an outsider-
adult) could have influenced the behaviour of the girls by changing what they would
normally do and say in their own company. Furthermore, if the researcher’s role was
revealed to the trampoline group they may have become suspicious and alter their
behaviour. It may be that, quite simply, their knowledge of being watched is sufficient
to change their behaviour whether they are observed from near or afar. Consequent-
ly, researcher bias is always present in the data and it is up to the researcher to think of
ways to reduce this bias, perhaps by thinking of new strategies to collect more data.
In terms of covert research, this created opportunities to collect new data from dif-
ferent perspectives, implicitly, by deception. This was achieved by assuming the role
of trampoline coach, thereby getting closer to “the action” with a group of students
who did not know at that stage that the ‘coach’ was in fact a researcher eavesdrop-
ping on their dialogue and behaviour in close quarters. This strategy also presented
new challenges for recording and working with the trampoline groups in the longer
term. That is, if a group/individual discovers they have been deceived from the start,
they seemingly have good reason not to trust the researcher in the future. Covert

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research also raised some ethical issues concerning informed consent and the use of
data in the writing up and reporting stages. In this particular study, the formalised
process of conducting qualitative research and keeping the teachers and supervisors
informed at every stage of the project helped to develop data collection in a useful
way. The professional demands of the school setting for researchers to be present dur-
ing lessons (passes, signing in/off site), and the non-threatening nature of this study
also helped to reduce ethical concerns. However, they are highlighted in this paper to
indicate they are very important issues to address if researchers are to conduct their
investigations responsibly.

Data collection - earning trust, gaining access and developing a view

When carrying out the first observation with the Year 11 trampolining class, the so-
cial role was “complete observer” taking notes from a distance within the natural
setting. Observation notes were written from this relatively detached position. For
example, it was noted that the students in this lesson were:
Observational Note: Cooperating well, doing as they were told, listening to instruc-
tions and instructing each other on the task, pupils were laughing - having a good
time.’

For the students, the researcher’s position was as a stranger to them. Therefore, the
information noted could be said to be a fair representation of what went on in the
natural setting – given that the students were aware of an unfamiliar person in their
space. Agar (1980) suggests that a researcher’s status as a stranger or outsider to a
social system can contribute to one of the major difficulties facing an ethnographer
in the field. That is, that as a result of this outsiders-status, access to information can
be limited; this was true of the researcher’s experience at this particular point in the
study. How to get closer to the students whilst not upsetting the natural exchanges in
this situation was the next challenge.
The social role for the participant observations changed by progressively moving
closer to the students to be in proximity of their conversations and behaviour. In
order to achieve this, the researcher had to create a meaningful role for themselves
for the students to accept this new person in their company. The role of teaching as-
sistant at first, and latterly, trampoline coach was assumed, this being a useful person
for them to interact with during the trampoline sessions. The researcher was also now
a familiar figure to the students so the status and impact of being a stranger at their
lessons may have diminished. However it was acknowledged in the methodological
notes that the researcher’s presence as a mature teacher-like figure could alter the
dialogue and natural balance of their social exchanges. It is worth noting that in the
school setting, students would only ever be around a trampoline in the presence of
a qualified adult for safety reasons so perhaps their dialogue and social demeanour

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about trampolining was as natural as it would ever get.

The social role of the researcher during the teaching assistant/helper phase was “par-
ticipant as observer” achieved by standing close to the trampoline with a group of
students but trying not to influence the activity in any way. This made listening to
their comments and conversations easier but presented new difficulties in terms of
recording observations with notes having to be made after the lesson.
For example comments like:
Yes!! We re doing trampolining today
I like just jumping up and down
I can’t do it” but still tried anyway

These comments were not prompted by questions from the researcher rather, they
are just examples of utterances around the trampoline. The students seemed to enjoy
their trampolining but there has to be more to their motivation for it, than just ‘jump-
ing up and down’. The next challenge was to increase the researcher’s level of interac-
tion with the students in order to gain more insights into their behaviour whilst si-
multaneously answering their questions and demands for coaching to improve their
trampolining. With this development the role of participant-as-observer remained;
the researcher was clearly not their school teacher, but more requests were being
made by the students to increase the researcher’s interaction with them. For example,
an observational note recorded:
Students seemed to be more comfortable with me being there and interacted with
me a lot more – I tried not to influence their behaviour towards me or between
them.

This phase of data collection was more covert than overt as the real purpose of the re-
searcher was not divulged to the students but equally, it was not withheld either. The
teacher who was present was informed of the researcher’s intent and tactics to collect
data during this particular visit. It was evident from the observations and interviews
and that there was a sense of fun and enjoyment when taking part in the trampoline
lessons. For example, after a number of weeks of observation, the students were asked
to give their opinions about the trampoline sessions by “describing trampolining in
three words”. A selection of responses showed a range of opinions including:
different, lively, fun, adventurous, bouncy, enjoyable, good, jumping and exercise

The statements suggest that the girls held some positive attitudes towards trampolin-
ing and doing this activity as part of their P.E. lessons. However, just because tram-
polining is “fun and bouncy” the researcher was beginning to question whether the
students appreciated any educational value in participation. For instance, if trampo-

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lining were suddenly removed from the curriculum would it be valued differently by
these students? (This situation is quite realistic as the opportunity to do trampolining
only exists because there is a qualified member of staff to offer it.)
The students reported that they like to have a choice in what they do for P.E. and
found that doing trampolining was different and a more exciting option compared
to the other sports in P.E.. During some short interviews with the Year 7 students,
they were asked to give their opinions on how they felt about trampolining and the
reasons why they attended the after school trampoline club. The responses covered
the following:
…You get to learn other stuff
…Because now there’s nothing to do after school so I just came here…its better
than doing nothing
…Just bouncing
…Cause its fun
…Yeah, with me mates and that

Again these responses also show a sense of enjoyment and fun stemming from tram-
polining and some strong social motivations for taking part in the activity. For ex-
ample, the students mentioned that being with friends was important as well as being
able to go to the club after school because they felt there was nothing else to do. This
could either indicate that the students genuinely enjoyed the activity or that they just
liked to keep active rather than doing nothing, maybe to avoid laziness or because
there was no other sports provision in the area. During these interviews some of
the students also mentioned that they enjoyed the trampoline club because they got
to learn new skills. This could suggest that learning new skills rather than getting
external rewards, intrinsically motivated some of them. One student indicated that
she enjoyed the opportunity that trampolining gave her because it could be done in
her leisure time without the added pressure of being assessed as she might be in P.E.
lessons.
Sport England (2005) carried out research into the attitudes of girls towards P.E. and
found there were three key elements that girls wanted from their lessons. These in-
cluded:
1. A choice of activity
2. To have fun and enjoy what they were doing
3. To have the teacher get more involved in the activities
The Year 11 students chose to do trampolining for their general P.E. lessons over other

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activities that were offered to them. This indicates that they had some sort of positive
attitude towards the activity. These opinions ranged from suggesting that trampolin-
ing was “different” to saying that it was “enjoyable”. However, from the observations
when the researcher was “complete observer” with this Year 11 group, as well as dur-
ing the Year 8 and Year 9 trampoline lessons, the researcher felt that many of the
students saw trampolining as ‘an easy way out’. This was because all they needed to do
was “jump up and down” to take part in the lesson and “have fun” at the same time.
In saying that, most of the students liked the opportunity of learning and develop-
ing new skills on the trampoline but this depended on the knowledge and patience
of the teacher in charge. Coaching the co-ordination of actions and developing the
confidence required to learn new skills is very demanding and time consuming. In
P.E. with relatively high numbers of students, it is easy to see why the teacher might
limit their coaching input to just controlling a session of jumping up and down and
having fun without injury.

Conclusion
This study helped the researcher to understand how and why trampolining was of-
fered in these secondary schools as part of P.E. and in after school clubs. From stu-
dent’s language it seems clear that they understand the enjoyable elements of the
activity and could express this very well. Admittedly, a small number of students
did appear to be more interested in having aimless fun on the trampoline rather
than directed fun and skill learning. However, the majority of students enjoyed the
physical challenge that trampolining presented them. This could be observed in their
performances and repeated attempts to achieve a difficult action or link a routine. It
may be significant that the students who really tried hard to link small routines could
not verbally express what they found challenging in the activity, over and above “it’s
fun and bouncy”. That is, they seemed to lack the vocabulary to describe what the
researcher was seeing and comprehending as valuable educational outcomes from
their performance, for example knowledge of; weight transference, co-ordination
and linkage, balance and torque in flight, sighting, eccentric and concentric forces,
body conditioning for efficient biomechanical action and aesthetic features of flexion
and extension. This realisation has reaffirmed for the researcher that trampolining is
a worthwhile activity as it promotes participation and stimulates learning and enjoy-
ment in P.E.. However, to help the students realise some of these outcomes it seems
important to create opportunities to teach them about these theoretical concepts
which may be a difficult task to achieve in reality. If this is not achieved or at least
worked towards, trampolining may risk becoming the “easy way out” or the “easy op-
tion” in P.E. for the student and, perhaps significantly for the teacher as well.

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Silverman, D. (2005) Doing qualitative research. Sage Publications, London.
Stewart, A. (1998) The ethnographers method. SAGE University paper.
Wesson, K., Wiggins, N., Thompson, G. and Hartigan, S. (2000) Sport and PE: A complete
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JQRSS: Acknowledgement Footnote

1. Authors Reflective Comment: Clive Palmer’s support and advice as a mentor has
helped me to carry out my field research confidently. He has also helped me de-
velop my thoughts and theories in an area that is of great interest to me. By hav-
ing the opportunity to write this article I have been able to develop and improve
my research skills and present the findings clearly. Thank you to Clive and my
reviewers, your guidance is very much appreciated. I have learned a lot from this
valuable experience.
2. Author Profile: Jacqui is 22 years old and recently graduated from Liverpool Hope
University where she studied a combined Honours in Sport and Education. She is
particularly interested in trampolining and sport in an educational setting. She is
currently studying for a PGCE in secondary Physical Education in Liverpool.
3. Dear reader, if this article has stimulated your thoughts and you wish to find out
more about this topic the authors can be contacted on: 07000737@hope.ac.uk or
PALMERC@hope.ac.uk

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