Structuring effects and appropriation of a problem-solving approach in health and physical education

Objectives: An action research project was carried out in collaboration with two health and physical education teachers so that they could optimize their assessment practices in health education. The objectives pay particular attention to the training purpose of this action research by examining: 1) the utility of management tools developed by the participants so that they could take ownership of the problem-solving process; and 2) their degree of ownership of this process. Methods: Four group interviews and two types of logbooks were used to collect the data needed to meet these two objectives. The data thus collected were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Results: Three management tools were developed and proved to be useful in bringing participants to appropriate the problem-solving process: 1) the systematic logbook; 2) success indicators; and 3) facilitation guides. Interpretation: The results highlight the importance of having structuring measures and an explicit training objective in participatory research.