Introduction: This article aims to show the contribution of mixed methods research (Creswell 2015; Smith and McGannon 2018) to a study conducted within the Course-of-Action Research Programme (Theureau 2006, 2015). It analyses the experience of French vocational high-school students in physical education over a school year to identify and understand the social support of the teacher in engaging the students. This enabled us to describe and understand the typical supports experienced by students to engage with the work.