Listening to Female Physical Education Teachers: Powerful Voices Celebrating Success and Action

Consent

INVITATION
We would like to ask for your assistance with a study called “Listening to Female Physical Education Teachers: Powerful Voices Celebrating Success and Action” which is being carried out by the College of Kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan. This project aims to better understand the experiences, barriers, opportunities, skills, competencies, expectation, hopes, and dreams of physical education teachers who identify as a woman about their profession. The primary intended audiences are university students who identify as a woman preparing to teach physical education, and women who have previously taught physical education. We anticipate that a variety of audiences will be interested, given the anticipated content of letters that will be collected and the learnings from them – e.g., mid to late career physical education teachers, school administrators, faculties of education, school boards, school guidance counselors, researchers in the fields of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Your participation in this study, your insight and experiences can help shape the experiences of females teaching physical education. Thank you!

WHAT’S INVOLVED
The project will involve completion of an anonymous one-time, online questionnaire. The questionnaire will ask you to share with use some information about your background and basic demographic information. The second section will ask you to write a letter based off of some guiding questions about your experience as a female physical education teacher (current, past or retired) or as your experience as a female post-secondary student who has completed her extended practicum (internship). The questionnaire will take approximately 30-60 minutes depending on the length of the letter.

THE TOOLS
Survey Monkey is an internet software that will administer the online survey. The SurveyMonkey privacy policy can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/legal/. Before access to the online survey, participant consent will be required. The online survey begins with a few questions regarding demographic data. The rest of the survey includes writing a letter using the guiding questions provided. Your data will be stored in facilities hosted in Canada.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND RISKS
Data from this anonymous online questionnaire will hopefully help young women who are entering the teaching profession, and for others (e.g., fellow teachers, administrators) to know how to support them (and each other) during their teaching career. Although these benefits are not guaranteed it is anticipated that results from the survey may help young teachers entering their profession. There is minimal risk in completing the survey. While the questions are posed to seek out your past or current experiences as a female physical education teacher, some respondents experience mild stress in recalling past experiences, if they were unpleasant. If you feel you need support, please visit www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/health/accessing-health-care-services/healthline or call 811.

CONFIDENTIALITY
Only a study number will be associated with your survey responses. Your participation and data will be anonymous. All information will be considered anonymous and grouped with data from other participants, and thus your answers will never be singled out nor will names be associated with any of the answers. The second to last question asks you if you give permission for researchers to use quotes from your response – this is not mandatory and you can choose to decline. The last question of the survey asks if you would be willing to be contacted for a potential follow-up interview. If you indicate yes to this last question and provide your email, your email will be provided to the Principle Investigator. Your email will not be associated with survey answers and will be stored separately from the data. Access to all data will be restricted to the Principle and Co-Investigators. All data will be kept in an encrypted and secured online cabinet within the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Kinesiology. The research team will assume responsibility for data storage for five years post publication, then the files will be deleted.

VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you wish, you may decline to participate in this study, without any repercussion. Once answers have been submitted, it is no longer possible to withdraw from the study as data is anonymous so we will not be able to identify which responses belonged to you.

PUBLICATION OF RESULTS
The project’s results will be shared in a variety of ways (e.g., conferences, papers, reports, presentations), and will include a workshop wherein we will share the results of this project to physical education teachers, administrators, and other related sport and teaching organizations. Participants may contact the investigators if they wish to receive a summary of the findings. The data will be reported in aggregate form so that it will not be possible to identify individuals. Data will be available to participants 6 months after data collection.

CONTACT INFORMATION AND ETHICS CLEARANCE
If you have any questions about this study or require further information, please contact any member of the research team using the contact information provided here:
Research Team:
Louise Humbert, Ph.D., College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, (306) 966-1070, louise.humbert@usask.ca
Karen Chad, Ph.D., College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, (306) 280-9782, karen.chad@usask.ca

This research project has been approved on ethical grounds by the University of Saskatchewan Research Ethics Board. Any questions regarding your rights or your child’s rights as a participant may be addressed to that committee through the Research Ethics Office ethics.office@usask.ca (306) 966-2975. Out of town participants may call toll free (888) 966-2975.

Question Title

* 1. Having read the information above, please decide if you are eligible to participate, you have experience teaching physical education, you identify as female, and you are either a future (completed your extended practicum), current, or retired teacher.

If you are able and decide to participate, please check off all of the following statements below. You may print a copy of this information to keep. By completing and submitting this questionnaire, your free and informed consent is implied and indicated that you understand the above conditions of participation in this study. Please note, you do not have to be currently teaching physical education to participate in the project.

I have read the information in this consent form

I understand the purpose and procedures and the possible risks and benefits of the study

I was given sufficient time to think about this consent form

I had the opportunity to ask questions and have received satisfactory answers

I understand that I am free to withdraw from this study at any time for any reason, and the decision to stop taking part will not affect my future relationships.

I give permission to the use and disclosure of my de-identified information collected for the research purposes described in this form.

I understand that by signing this document, I do not waive any of my legal rights.

Question Title

* 2. After reading the above information, do you consent to participate in the current study? (You can print off a copy of the above information).

Yes

At the end of the survey, you will be given the opportunity to participate in a follow-up interview. Please note that the information collected in this survey will not be associated to the information you provide if you wish to participate in the follow-up. This survey is completely anonymous.