Understanding the development of pre-service and early career outdoor education teachers’ professional identity

EXPLANATION OF PROJECT

Background Information:

Teachers’ professional identity has emerged as an important focus in the educational sector in the past decade. However, there is little information available on the professional identity development of outdoor education teachers. You are therefore invited to participate in this study which aims to investigate: (i) what factors influence the development of pre-service and early career outdoor education teacher identities; and (ii) how pre-service and early career outdoor education teacher identities evolve.

Who will take part in the study?

This study draws on three distinctive participant groups: (1) university students aged 18 years and over currently studying an undergraduate outdoor education program at an Australian university; (2) Postgraduate Master of Teaching Students completing studies in outdoor education at an Australian university; and (3) early career outdoor education teachers (defined as first five years in teaching profession) working in Australia. If you are in a dependent relationship with any of the researchers involved in this project e.g., staff/student, your participation/non-participation will not affect ongoing assessment, grades, employment, or management. Time and place of the study: The study will be conducted online, or face-to-face at a mutually convenient time and location for researchers and participants.

What will you be required to do?

If you agree to take part in this research, you will be invited to complete a short online survey or participate in an interview/focus-group discussion. There is no requirement or expectation for participants to complete both aspects of the research but completing one aspect does not exclude you from the other component. The online survey should take no longer than 20 minutes. Questions are multiple choice or rating scales, and you can choose not to answer questions on the survey without consequence. The return of your completed survey is taken as your implied consent to participate in this research. If you participate in the survey, you can select to go into the draw to receive one of 5 $50 vouchers for an outdoor education store, One Planet.

The interview/focus-group discussion involves meeting the researcher (and, if relevant, other participants in your focus group) at a convenient time at a booked room on a University Campus or online via Microsoft Teams. The interview/focus group will take no longer than 1 hour and if you agree to participate, your will be asked to verbally provide consent. During the interview/focus group, we would encourage you to answer the questions honestly. You are free to choose not to answer questions without consequence. Please note that the interview/focus group will be audio-recorded, but no identifying information will be used in any publication arising from the research. In a circumstance where there is a small sample, there may be implications for privacy/anonymity. You are also required to keep the anonymity of other participants and their responses within the focus groups. If you participate in a focus group you can nominate to go into the running for one of 5 $50 vouchers for an outdoor education store, One Planet.

What are the risks involved?

It is possible that some participants may have experienced negative and/or traumatic events within the outdoors/teaching and these individuals may experience some psychological distress and/or unintentional embarrassment if they have emotional responses when completing the survey or participating in the focus group. You can talk to the people named at the top of this form, or that facilitates the focus groups if you have any questions. Alternatively, it you would like to talk to an independent organisation, you can phone: Headspace (1800 650 890), Kids Help (1800 55 1800), Lifeline (13 11 14), or Employee Assistance Program (1300 361 008). What happens to information gained from the study? All completed questionnaires will be stored electronically and only the researchers named in this plain language statement will have access to the data. The data you provide by completing the interview/focus group will be transcribed by a third party who will not have access to your personal information. Arrangements have been made to protect the confidentiality of the data, subject to legal limitations. The data will be de-identified before being analysed, and no identifying information will be used in any publications arising from the research. Study findings will be presented within the academic and outdoor education communities, via conference presentations, journal publications and reports. Aggregated results will be reported. Data will be securely stored for at least five years and will be disposed of securely after this time.

What are your rights as a participant in this study?

Your participation is voluntary, and if you wish to refuse to participate this requires no explanation. Further, you have the right to withdraw from the study at any time prior to the data being processed, without having to provide a reason. If consent is withdrawn after data has been aggregated and processed it will not be possible to withdraw nonidentifiable data, although consent can still be withdrawn. Withdrawal from the study will in no way adversely affect your relationship with Federation University or the researchers involved in the study.

Is the study approved? The study has received approval from Federation University Human Research and Ethics Committee (Project

reference number: 2022-199).