Search

Background: There has been an overwhelming call to improve the understanding of how children develop within an African context as Euro-American definitions of competence have been uncritically adopted as the norm for children in Africa. The activities that children engage in within the family setting are seen as important to understand how children develop within context. The use of activity settings is closely aligned with a strengths-based perspective of family-centred practice and contributes to improved sustainability of intervention. Objectives: This study that was conducted in Soweto, South Africa, aims to describe activity settings that typically developing young children in low-income African contexts participate in. Method: A descriptive design using structured interviews was utilised to obtain information about activity settings that children aged 3–5 years and 11 months engaged in. Structured interviews with 90 caregivers were conducted. Results: Findings show that children participate in a variety of activities with varied participation levels. The types of activities are dependent on the context and perceptions of caregivers. Conclusion: These findings draw attention to understanding activities that children engage in within the family context.

Background: There has been an overwhelming call to improve the understanding of how children develop within an African context as Euro-American definitions of competence have been uncritically adopted as the norm for children in Africa. The activities that children engage in within the family setting are seen as important to understand how children develop within context. The use of activity settings is closely aligned with a strengths-based perspective of family-centred practice and contributes to improved sustainability of intervention. Objectives: This study that was conducted in Soweto, South Africa, aims to describe activity settings that typically developing young children in low-income African contexts participate in. Method: A descriptive design using structured interviews was utilised to obtain information about activity settings that children aged 3–5 years and 11 months engaged in. Structured interviews with 90 caregivers were conducted. Results: Findings show that children participate in a variety of activities with varied participation levels. The types of activities are dependent on the context and perceptions of caregivers. Conclusion: These findings draw attention to understanding activities that children engage in within the family context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to find out: (I) how the junior high school English teachers in Bengkulu city exploited the commercially published textbooks for classroom use; (2) if there was a difference in the way the experienced and the inexperienced English language teachers exploited the commercially published textbooks in the classroom; and (3) whether the teachers adapted textbooks or produced their own materials for classroom use. Twelve English teachers (6 experienced and 6 inexperienced teachers) from four different junior high schools or SMPs (2 favourite and 2 non-favourite) in Bengkulu city were the participants in this study. Data were obtained through a questionnaire, classroom observations, and sample lesson plans. The results of the study revealed that: first, the junior high school English language teachers (ET and IT); (1) used the commercially prescribed textbooks to a large extent; (2) there was not much difference between the way experienced teachers and inexperienced teachers exploited the textbooks; (3) both groups of teachers adapted the textbooks or produced their own teaching materials.