A multiple case study evaluating how school sport partnerships can achieve impact within a competitive, external provider PE and school sport market

Abstract

This study aimed to research the factors required to achieve impact between England’s School Sport Partnerships (SSPs) and schools, and whether theory could help to improve evaluations. In the last 10 years, SSPs have changed from being one of the sole providers in this field towards having to compete with other agencies commonly referred to as external providers (EPs) within a marketised education system. Sixteen research participants (teachers and managers) were interviewed from SSPs within two contrasting regions. The need to capture participants’ thoughts and feelings led to a qualitative approach utilising a multiple case study design, underpinned by deductive and inductive reasoning enabling theory to emerge both before and after the collection of data. Data analysis was enacted through coding and the presentation of themes. Results revealed the importance of head teachers for creating successful partnerships leading towards impact within school communities. In addition, SSPs needed to understand context in terms of fulfilling a client’s needs, particularly in demonstrating how PE could contribute towards whole-school improvement. Theoretical findings included recommendations for SSPs to use mixed methods, instead of monitoring impact solely through a quantitative approach. Evaluations could be improved through adopting programme theory in the form of theory-based impact evaluation (TBIE) to understand why change has taken place. Stakeholders and practitioners should plan using theory and then reflect, instead of ‘doing’ and then reflecting.