South Africa consists of developed and developing contexts. This article reports on a study undertaken to determine the effect of a Perceptual--motor Intervention Programme in learning readiness of Grade R learners from deprived environments. Le Roux's Group Test for School Readiness was used as baseline assessments to establish the school…

This article reports on three salient socio-cultural and systemic factors that are influential in play in Abu Dhabi Education Council's (ADEC's) kindergarten (KG) framework from the teacher perspective. Anecdotal evidence suggests that during ADEC's progressive educational reform, emphasis has reverted to academic performance outcomes rather than…

Children's communicative competence is essential and predictive of their success in school. However, in England in recent years we have faced particular challenges inculcating this understanding into primary and early years teachers' practice. Furthermore, some studies have raised concerns about children's communicative competence on school entry.…

Details an investigation of language development and subsequent readiness to learn of preschoolers in a disadvantaged Griqua community in South Africa. Notes that preschoolers revealed a relative lack of verbal fluency, associative reasoning, and relational thinking skills, and had a restricted vocabulary. Argues that inadequate language…

Promoting moral, language and literacy development is particularly important for children in inclusive early childhood programs serving disadvantaged children. In the first section of this article, the author: (1) summarizes research about the gap between typically developing children in professional families and most disadvantaged children and…

Notes that developmental theories are a resource for developing early-childhood curricula; reviews a variety of current theories and research, including maturationist, behaviorist and psychoanalytic theories, and constructivist theories of cognitive development. Presents suggestions for translating theory into curriculum, as well as conceptions of…

This study examined factors contributing to poor literacy and numeracy development among black South African children ages 5.5 to 7 years. Findings pointed to a conglomerate of factors, namely inadequate visual-motor integration, poor visual analysis and synthesis, poor fine motor development, and inadequate exposure to mediated reading and…

A pilot study examined the reliability and predictive validity of a screening instrument for Dutch kindergartners. Findings indicated acceptable reliability and predictive validity. Parents could accurately screen their child's language proficiency level, pre-arithmetic level, and degree of extraversion at school entry. Teachers could predict…