My colleagues who did a similar approach call it "action research".

Perfect, Renzo I am not familiar with participant observation, is there a distinction between participant and ethnographic observations? as the first part of my study will be observations.  Thank you all so much for your feedback and book recommendation (I have ordered one as there is none in my library).It is very different when putting pen to paper for the first time and it represents the next period of your life (PhD) and you need to be very specific, so thanks.  Stefan, I too shall have to be analysing technology for my study so it might be interesting to compare once the time comes.  Thanks again, Action Research I think the distinction between participatory or not appears to be collaborative from the onset but this portion of the study is an intervention so it is probably more closely related to action research rather than participatory action research.

Stefan does this still apply if I am NOT the teacher but the researcher? 'Technology' is an ambiguous term in the eyes of my proposal and will be defined as part of a series of lit reviews, similarly 'what' technology I shall use will be defined as a result of said lit review.... 

I have labelled my observations as 'ethnographic observations' as they are to give the relationships context pre and post intervention is that not right?

Sociologists tend to you the term participant observation while anthropologists tend to call it ethnography. These are thus close to being two different labels for the same kind of method. The key difference is that anthropologists explicitly use the concept of culture throughout their studies.

In your case, a sociologist would ask to what extent you will a participant versus an observer. In other words, will you have some role in the classroom (as a participant) or will you simply be collecting data (as an observer)?

As for participatory action research, that would imply that you are actively working with the participants in your research (e.g., the teachers) to help them reach their own goals. This kind of research is frequently referred to as "community based," So you are probably not doing participatory action research unless you are collaborating with the local community to determine how you are doing your research and how they can use the products of your research.

Thank you David. For my observations I shall not be an active participant but shall just be observing each child.  I am coming from a psychology / education perspective and think psychology is particularly comfortable with the work ethnographic observation so I shall stick with that.  Thanks for clarifying the participatory action research i shall not be in the community at this time but defining a construct model through observations and semi-structures interviews whilst making collages pre-test as such, then the intervention and then semi-structured interviews, collages and observations post-test to see if there has been a change in the construct.  I think it best to analyse the construct using grounded theory rather that thematic analysis but am just working my way through the distinction! You have all been a great help thanks.  Is there any papers you would recommend me looking at? Re method, structure etc merisa

A key distinction with participant observation is that you are observing as a participant in the community. This allows you to more closely experience the perspective of those you are observing and interpret these observations with a deeper understanding of the meaning attached to them.  It can be used in ethnographic research as one potential methodology. 

Participant observation differs from participatory research and participatory action research, which are methodologies in which members of the target population are closely involved in research design, data collection, interpretation, and dissemination. The degree to which such participation takes place varies, but it essentially means some considerable involvement. Comprehensive participatory research designs include community members as full and equal members of the research team beginning with planning and continuing through dissemination. 

Participatory action research differs from participatory research in that there is actionable and purposeful goals associated with the research. Goals are often but not always associated with public policy. 

Action research would include the associated goals without inclusion of community members. 

With regard to Grounded Theory versus Thematic analysis, I would say that GT is considerably more rigorous and thus more demanding. For GT I would recommend Charmaz's book on Constructing Grounded Theory.

Best source I know on Thematic Analysis is 

Braun, V. & Clarke, V. 2006. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101.

But I have to say that even though they offer a 6-step process, I still find their approach to be rather vague.

Thanks David, I have pinpointed Charmaz 2006 book in my library and shall be picking it up tomorrow! I would like to look at it from a Constructionist Grounded Theory perspective as it is question focus gives it credibility despite the rigor of the approach.  From what I have read thematic analysis it is rather aloof when used to develop a construct/concept.  Although I anticipate nights of stress and confusion due to my novice status! The major limitation from what I have read has been a lack of control group, how do you deal with this when justifying your choices in proposals, articles and conversations?

Just so you know, there is a newer (2014) second edition of the Charmaz book. It doesn't chasing much of what she said in the 2006 version, and instead mostly adds some new chapters.

As for the lack of a control group, a control group is primarily useful when you are doing quantitative research, and what you have in mind is very different. So, I would not worry about what your research does not do. Instead, I would concentrate on the strengths of what your project can contribute to knowledge in your field. 

Perfect thank you,  I shall look on Amazon to see if I can get hold of the 2014 version.  I really appreciate your help. - Everyones. Thank you.