“We Took Pictures”: Children’s Meaning-Making in Physical Education

Abstract

Purpose: Studying learning in primary physical education is complex and largely practical and embodied; not only involving the child, but also closely linking the lesson context. The aim of this paper is to understand teaching and learning in primary physical education through the use of photo-diaries. Method: Participants were children (n = 38) and their teachers (n = 2)  from two Irish primary schools across a 6-week period. Data included children’s photo-diaries, photo-elicitation focus group interviews with the children, and interviews with their teachers. Results: Results highlight that photo-diaries supported children’s meaning-making processes about their learning, highlighting a variety of meanings grounded in the centrality of the body as performance of learning. Discussion and Conclusion: The value of photo-based approaches with primary school children to access their meaning-making and influences on their understandings is highlighted.