Poetic transcription, narrative inquiry and learning to teach

Abstract

This paper examines physical education teacher education undergraduate student experiences while learning and teaching indigenous movement, te ao kori, in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand secondary and tertiary physical education. The research was designed to investigate some of the consequences of undergraduate coursework in Māori culture and to discern how the students re-interpreted those experiences when teaching on practicum in secondary schools. Interviews, participant observation and detailed field notes were the sources of data. In recording the research a key focus was to draw on poetic transcription (Glesne, 1997) of the students interview transcripts to maintain a feeling of the lived experience; to give voice to their emotions, vulnerabilities, resistances, and actions; and to reveal their practice. The students were used to a dominant Pākehā hegemony in physical education, these research findings reveal how they; positioned their understanding of Māori culture in a contemporary physical education context; prepared for and made pedagogical decisions; carried out their teaching tasks. The strength of this research lies in its focus on praxis and in the value it places on human agency. This presentation will highlight the use of poetic transcriptions to tell the story of the research. Knowledge gained could be of practical value to other educators uncertain about the use of poetry in their research or challenged to teach indigenous content in their curriculum. Glesne, C. (1997). That rare feeling: Re-presenting research through poetic transcription. Qualitative Inquiry, 3, 202-221