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MSc (Occupational Therapy), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand / As there are no occupation based outcome measures evaluating the effect of occupational therapy in the pre-school child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) an Occupational Performance Questionnaire (OPQ) was developed to address this. The OPQ was tested for content validity and reliability before a 12 month intervention study to establish construct validity and response to change in children with ASD receiving Occupational Therapy using a Sensory Integration frame of reference (OT-SI) was done. The results of 19 subjects on the OPQ were compared with the results on two other standardised measures -the Short Sensory Profile (SSP), and Parenting Stress Index (PSI-SF) at six monthly intervals. Convergent validity between family impact on the OPQ and the PSI-SF was moderate but for occupation performance on the OPQ and the SSP it changed from negligible to moderate over 12 months. The OPQ is responsive to change as correlations between improvements in the three outcome measures were moderate. The OPQ was found to still need attention in terms of item reliability and validity.

Little research is currently available on child care arrangements involving grandparents, at a time of significant change within the child care sector. This study explored the experiences of grandparents providing regular care of their grandchildren prior to school entry. It used narrative inquiry, a qualitative research methodology to investigate the nature of their care experiences from the perspective of grandparent carers. Narrative tests were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 17 grandparents from a range of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds across Sydney and in south-west NSW, Australia. The active engagement of grandparents in the preparation of interpretive tests enabled significant depth of meaning to be discovered within grandparents' stories. The study revealed the grandparents held contrasting views in relation to their care experience. They gained significant meaning from building strong bonds with grandchildren, while also experiencing loss of autonomy, physical tiredness, and in some cases, family tension. The study found grandparent careers were not a homogenous group and identified four carer clusters grouped around grandparents' perspectives on family contribution, care obligations and personal independence. The study points to the importance of grandparents having choice in care decisions and the need to establish arrangements with adult children that are true care partnerships. / Doctor of Philosphy (PhD)

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Zululand, 1994. / The aim of mis study was: * to describe the life-world of pre-school children from a deprived community from a psychopedagogical perspective; and * to determine in the light of findings obtained certain guidelines according to which accountable support could be instituted in order to meet the needs of pre-school children from a deprived community. As introduction a psychopedagogical perspective on pre-school children is given. Education as a true human activity which finds its expression in the relationship between adult and child is examined more closely. From a psychopedagogical perspective the deprived child finds himself in a situation of dysfunctional education mainly because he goes through life with inadequate assistance and guidance of a responsible parent or adult. This results in the psychic life of the pre-school child being under-actualized. The lack of responsible adult intervention and accompaniment, which is based on the pedagogical principles of love, trust and authority, results in fee deprived child forming relationships within his life-world which are inadequate for his emancipation. The child from a deprived community feils to constitute a meaningful life-world. It would appear that poverty together with environmentally disadvantaged conditions such as overcrowding, insufficient personal, financial and social resources, discrimination and deprivation, all interact with each other, resulting in under-actualization of the psychic life of the pre-school child. Research literature has shown that parents of children from deprived communities were in no position to provide their children with any assistance, guidance or support. In most instances parents themselves have had little or no formal education. Families live in overcrowded homes with no electricity and proper sanitation. In most cases both parents work, leaving very early in the morning and returning late in the afternoon. The children are left on their own with hardly any control over mem. In the light of the findings of this research, the following was recommended: * That bridging module readiness classes should be established for children turning five years of age and that professionally qualified educators should be placed in charge of these children; * that educational programmes for parents, teachers, school management staff, pupils and social workers should be organised to meet the varied needs of both parents and children especially from deprived communities; and * that pre-schools should be established, registered, fully financed and controlled by the State with clearly formulated aims which are not only achievable, but are also in accordance with the realisation of the ultimate aim of education, namely, adulthood.

Because of the paucity of evidence with regard to dark adaptation and the vitamin A status of pre-school children, this study is made. The purpose, therefore, is to add to the available data on this subject through an investigation of the bio-photometer as a means of detecting vitamin A deficiency in pre-school children.

Language development of pre-school children was studied as it is related to a musical tutoring experience. Nine musical tutoring sessions, in addition to those of the regular curriculum, were given to the experimental group while the control group received no such tutoring experiences. The experimental group, at the conclusion of the musical tutoring sessions, scored significantly higher than the control group when tested on the specific language concepts stressed in the tutoring sessions. Because the findings were significant the hypothesis stated as, " ... there will be a significant difference between the experimental group, which will have the supplemental music tutoring experience, and the control group which will not have that experience," was held tenable.

Previous studies of the ontogeny of the mucosal immune system have shown a significant increase in salivary Immunoglobulin A levels occurring at about five years of age. This study has monitored a group of 3 and 4 year old children during one year of attendance at Pre-School to examine whether such an increase could be linked to increased antigenic exposure associated with moving into a school like environment. Saliva samples were collected at regular intervals and analysed for immunoglobulin and total protein levels. Daily health records were maintained for each child, and a detailed social and medical history was collected for each child at the beginning of the study. The elevated mucosal immune response observed in previous studies involving children in day care centres and attending school was not seen in this study. No significant difference was observed between children who had previously attended Pre-School or child care centres and those who were attending for the first time. However, a marked seasonal increase in mean salivary IgA during the winter months was observed and this increase correlated with an increase in respiratory infections. Hence, in studies of developmental aspects of mucosal immune response it is essential that modifiers such as season and infection be recorded.

This study explores the concept of imaginative play within music therapy sessions with two pre-school children in a mainstream school. This is based on pre-existing material from my clinical work at a pre-school in 2008. My interest in the phenomenon of imaginative play that emerged within our sessions gave rise to this dissertation. I found that, within my sessions, imaginative play seemed to be particularly helpful in the development of the therapeutic relationship. Thus, the aim is to explore how moments of imaginative play emerged within sessions, how the client and therapist interacted within these moments, and how this affected the therapeutic relationship and served to address therapeutic goals. This is addressed within the main research question. In addition to this, I look at the advantages and limitations of working with imaginative play in music therapy, and how music therapists can use their skills during these moments. This is addressed within the two sub-questions. This study aims to offer valuable insight about the phenomenon of imaginative play in music therapy, with particular focus on pre-school children. The study is conducted within the qualitative research paradigm, and is exploratory in nature. It follows a case study design, where pre-existing data from sessions is analysed in detail. The data consists of three video excerpts. Two excerpts are taken from different points in one session with an individual client (D), and the third is taken from an individual session with another client (F), where I was the co-therapist. The data has been transcribed, coded, categorized and organized into themes, which highlight the use and implications of using imaginative play in music therapy sessions. Findings indicate that imaginative play in music therapy sessions can be beneficial in promoting interaction, mutual participation as well as offering the client an alternative medium through which they can express different ideas and feelings where music did not seem to do so. It also provided an enjoyable experience for both the client and therapist, allowing for a more relaxed, therapeutic atmosphere and for the therapeutic relationship to develop. / Mini Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / gm2014 / Music / Unrestricted

A research experiment was performed in the Utah State University Child Development Laboratory on a group of pre-school children consisting of ten boys and ten girls between the ages of three and four years in an attempt to discover that teaching method which will best sustain a child's interest while teaching a foreign language in an experimental situation. The procedure involved the evaluation of three different methods. 1) German conversation in a group utilizing audio-visual aids, 2) Group singing of a German song, and 3) Telling a story in German using a flannel board with illustrations. These three methods were performed three times each over a five-week period. The results showed that there was not statistically a significant difference. The findings did show, however, that the flannelboard story sustained the interest of the group best, next the singing of a German song and the least effective was conversation in German. The results did indicate that the interest of the children dropped considerably from the first to the third time that the conversation method was performed. The interest of the children increased considerably from the first to the third time that the singing of a German Bong was performed. The interest of the children appeared to stay about the same over the three times that the flannel-board story was performed. Femininity and masculinity appear to influence the responses of children to a language-learning situation. That method which will best sustain children's interest in a language-learning situation appears to be dependent on where the children are in their familiarity with the language.

The principal aim of this master´s thesis has been to analyze the available Czech and foreign cartographic works that may be used wholly or partly for preschool children. A design and a model of an orientation map of a village for educational needs in nursery schools and the first stage of primary schools are part of the work. A basic map of the village of Boretice (a disctrict of Breclav) has been used as a basis for creation of my own design of a map. The usability of the newly designed map has been tested in the local nursery school.