Objective: Physical activity (PA) is essential to promote both optimal physical and emotional health in preschool children. Hence, well-founded PA guidelines are essential. 24-hour Movement Guidelines (which include PA, recreational screen time and sleep) have been established. Thus, this study aimed to explore preschool-aged children's adherence…

Proprioceptive kinaesthetic control underpins motor movements of developing children and can be influenced by several factors. The main aim of this study was to establish proprioceptive kinaesthetic coordination differences in six-year-olds from different school quintiles, of different genders, and with different handedness. A total of 193…

A high prevalence of medical conditions affects the typical motor development of learners in the West Coast District of South Africa. Given the strong correlation between motor skill performance and academic achievement, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of motor skill impairment among Grade R learners (5-7-year olds) enrolled in public…

This paper focuses on the ways in which five- to seven-year-old primary school children in a Black/African township in South Africa construct and experience 'free play' in the classroom. Findings highlight the gendered manner in which play is constructed and constantly policed by these young children during 'free play'. By foregrounding the young…

Background: Stunting continues to affect young children as a global nutritional disorder. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence, associated risk factors and spatial clustering for stunting in a disadvantaged South African District. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional weighted survey of households was conducted in the iLembe…

In this article we argue that eliminating the divisions of labour between men and women could work towards counteracting gender inequality within professions. Globally women are over-represented in the teaching of young children in the early years of primary school, or Foundation Phase (FP), as it is known in South Africa. We are concerned to go…

The purpose of the study is to find out what a group of seven-year-old South African children understand of their internal anatomy. The research is based on the premise that young children obtain most of their science knowledge through personal experience. Drawings are used to determine the level of young children's knowledge of systems and…

This paper reports on a case study of male foundation phase pre-service students who were among the first cohort to specialise in the foundation phase since the inception of the programme at one South African university. The students reported on their experiences of teaching in a female-dominated field and their views about their preparedness to…

Elucidating how inequity aversion (a tendency to dislike and correct unequal outcomes) functions as one develops is important to understanding more complex fairness considerations in adulthood. Although previous research has demonstrated that adults and children reduce inequity, it is unclear if people are actually responding negatively to…

Understanding the ways in which young boys and girls give meaning to gender and sexuality is vital, and is especially significant in the light of South Africa's commitment to gender equality. Yet the, gendered cultures of young children in the early years of South African primary schools remains a, marginal concern in debate, research and…

The Research on Women and Education SIG of the American Educational Research Association presents the third book in its series, Gender and Early Learning Environments. Finding after the publication of Gender and Schooling in the Early Years, the second book in the series, that there was and is a paucity of published literature on early childhood…

Aim: This descriptive cross-sectional study estimates the frequencies and kinds of potential developmental disabilities (DD) and behavior problems (BP) among children in grades R and 1 who attend a primary public school in rural Western Cape Province, South Africa. Methods: Data were collected on 174 children aged 5.1-8.8 years using the "Ten…

This paper focuses on the ways in which a selected group of early childhood teachers in grades one and two, located in a predominantly white middle-class context in Durban, South Africa ascribe meaning to young boys they teach. The study finds that early childhood teachers are bearers of masculinity and incorporate taken-for-granted assumptions of…

This paper explores the salience of sport in the lives of eight-year-old and nine-year-old South African primary school boys. Drawing on ethnographic and interview data, I argue that young boys' developing relationship with sport is inscribed within particular gendered, raced and classed discourses in South Africa. Throughout the paper I show…

This volume of the 27th International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education Conference includes the following research reports: (1) Improving Decimal Number Conception by Transfer from Fractions to Decimals (Irita Peled and Juhaina Awawdy Shahbari); (2) The Development of Student Teachers' Efficacy Beliefs in Mathematics during…