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Background: South African studies based on school readiness found that most children who commence formal schooling (from Grade 1) lack the basic skills needed to adapt within the learning environment – these include having challenges to follow instructions, work autonomously or focus on a task. Aim: The national guideline for teaching children between birth to 9 years does not specify how early childhood education programmes can facilitate or strengthen executive function (EF) skills through structured play. Structured play, can be understood as play activities that require guidance and instructions for completion. During the activities, the participants have to follow instructions in order to attain the outcome. Hence, there is a need to explore how EF skills can be developed through structured play. From our understanding, EF is an individual’s cognitive ability to regulate thoughts and actions needed to complete a task. Executive function skills assist learners to adjust and work effectively later (Grade 1) in a formal learning environment to perform academically. Setting: The study was conducted at preschool sites that follow different educational approaches. They are Montessori, National Curriculum Framework (NCF), Reggio Emilia and Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA) preschools. The preschools are situated in affluent suburbs of Pretoria, Gauteng. In this article, learners refer to children aged 4 years in the Grade RRR class. Methods: A qualitative multiple case study design was utilised. We interacted with two teachers from four schools who followed different educational approaches. The data collection techniques included individual semi-structured interviews, lesson observation and document analysis, whilst photographs and field notes were taken when the teacher-participants interacted with learners during a planned learning experience. The generated data sets were inductively analysed and interpreted using the theoretical frameworks of sociocultural theory and metacognition. Results: The interpreted data sets revealed that the preschool teacher-participants can facilitate EF using games, songs, movement exercises or racing competitions. The participants explained that indoor, outdoor and learning experiences facilitated EF skills such as self-regulation, working memory and cognitive flexibility during structured play. Conclusion: There is a need for preschool teachers to identify EF in the curriculum and know how to link and intentionally include the skills in daily learning experiences. This will ensure learners acquire EF and apply it in formal learning environments. The contribution to the body of scholarship is the development of guidelines for teachers to intentionally and explicitly develop EF skills using structured play. We confer that teachers play a role in enabling fun, engaging and hands-on activities that promote the acquisition of EF in the early years.

Physical classrooms provide immense sensory stimulation to children and inform behaviour, cognitive processes and psychological state of mind. Children diagnosed with any subtype of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to exhibit sensory integration/processing impairments that contribute to inappropriate behavioural and learning responses. Teachers need good information and user-friendly psycho-educational instruments to meet the needs of children diagnosed with any ADHD subtype. The Sensory Classroom Teacher Questionnaire (SCTQ) utilises ADHD symptomatology to evaluate learning spaces that support children in regulating their response to sensory input. We report on the piloted design and refinement of the SCTQ based on best practices. A convenience sample of South African early childhood teachers administered the first (n = 313) and second (n = 72) versions of the SCTQ at various primary schools. Cross-disciplinary specialists appraised the SCTQ for content validity, while the Rasch rating scale model was applied to assess internal construct reliability and validity. The structure of the latent constructs was assessed using Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis. Following the first pilot, we refined the SCTQ by combining or deleting unnecessary items and reducing the five-point Likert scale to a three-point scale. Revising the Likert scale in version one was necessary to improve category functioning. Adjusting the three-point scale in the revised SCTQ indicated good item and scale functioning. We show the conceptual framework, refinement process, all results and the most recent version of the SCTQ for teachers to use and educational researchers to adapt further.

Orientation: When researchers’ understanding and application of ‘conceptualisation’ can allude to nearly anything, it loses its philosophical purpose and stature. Negating the philosophical meaning of the term ‘conceptualisation’, because it appears obvious, will result in research inquiries becoming ambiguous and ideologically diminished. Paradigms and theoretical frameworks are rooted in philosophical principles, yet researchers often ‘conceptualise’ and conduct inquiries without understanding the foundation of their applied scientific methods. Research purpose: The historicity of psychological measurement development depicts a fusion of transdisciplinary knowledge systems and the stature of scientific methods is comprehensive. Yet the philosophical lenses through which researchers ‘conceptualise’ their measure to understand psychological behaviour are not as clear. Motivation for the study: Contemporary psychometric literature postulates the ‘conceptualisation phase’ as a mere point of departure to develop a psychological measure, whereas philosophical literature depicts ‘conceptualisation’ as the mainstay of any research inquiry. Research approach/design and method: A qualitative design was used with the conceptual analysis of terminology as approach. Textual or typographical psychometric and psychological literature was purposively sampled and inductively and deductively analysed, using the philosophical framework of Van der Walt and Potgieter. Main findings: The definition of the ‘conceptualisation phase’ is principally characterised as the scientific method to measure the scientific reality, while the integral human component, represented by the measure developer, is overlooked. Practical/managerial implications: Insights derived can enthuse future dialogues on the purpose and importance of the conceptualisation phase in the development of psychological measures. Contribution/value-add: A potential delineation of what the ‘conceptualisation phase’ should encapsulate is proposed.

Background: South Africa needs citizens who are morally sound, adaptive to change, technologically innovative and literate in socio-scientific issues. The young child is apparently being prepared for active citizenry through basic “Social Science, Natural Sciences and Technology” education as encapsulated in the South African curriculum. Aim: We foreground a theoretical and analytical framework to map the cultural–historical trajectory of South Africa’s Beginning Knowledge curriculum. Setting: Cultivating citizenship requires that these science subject domains be incorporated in a coherent, well-conceptualised and relevant early childhood curriculum as suggested by international literature. Educators need to be specialists in socio-scientific issues in both the content and pedagogy of these sciences in order to expound the curriculum. Methods: Our newly coined hybridised theoretical framework - the ‘Hybrid CHAT’ - together with an aligned analytical framework enabled us to illuminate the historical subject-didactical genetic development of Beginning Knowledge. An extensive sample of typographical textbooks, artefacts and cultural tools were analysed and interpreted. Results: Beginning Knowledge is afforded limited teaching time. The knowledge, skills and values associated with these science subjects serve to support and strengthen the acquisition of language and mathematics competencies. Currently, Beginning Knowledge does not sufficiently prepare child citizens for the global demands of the 21st century. Conclusion: Hybrid CHAT could invite further studies to place Beginning Knowledge on par with international curricula. This would also align the curriculum with the aspirations for an ideal South African citizenry as well as prepare child citizens to pursue Science and Technology for social development.