The transition from home to preschool is a very emotional and sometimes distressing period for both parent and child. The teacher plays a significant role, in that they are entrusted with the distressed and separation anxious child, and assist in helping both parent and child to adjust to the change. Research in the field of early childhood separation anxiety has suggested that, when the child has difficulty managing their anxiety, maladjustment can potentially predispose them to various other forms of pathology later in life. Thus, the potential implications of maladjustment simultaneously imply the importance of understanding and helping anxious and struggling preschoolers to adjust to developmental demands. This study qualitatively explored the perspectives and experiences of teachers, and how they have come to make sense of and respond to separation anxiety in children. Four private preschools in the Johannesburg area participated in the study and a sample of thirteen teachers were interviewed. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews which were audio-recorded. A thematic content analysis of the collected data revealed two core themes concerning teachers’ views on separation anxiety. The first theme addressed the ‘challenges encountered’ during the transitional period, which focused primarily on the presentation, impacts and predisposing factors of separation anxiety. The second major theme addressed ‘helpful qualities in the caregiver role’, which discussed useful qualities to be considered when engaging with a separation anxious child. Collectively, these findings presented an understanding of the various ways in which teachers make sense of and respond to separation anxiety during the transitional process. These qualitative insights also add to the existing body of literature, highlight areas for future research and attempt to offer thoughts on how separation anxiety can be managed, as to avoid further exacerbation and implications on later development.

This study investigates practices of early childhood development (ECD) practitioners for children from three to five years in three ECD centres situated within the municipal boundaries of Buffalo City, East London. It does so by posing the following questions: What are the practices of ECD practitioners for children from three to five years in developing learners’ oral language and physical intelligence. This study, using a qualitative approach and Qualitative methods for data collection were used, that is semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The findings reveal that for oral language development, storytelling and children sharing news seemed to be the most used practices. However, the practitioners in this study seemed to severely lack understanding of their selected practices. Practices for developing children’s physical intelligence included free play, which was unsupervised. Practitioners seemed not to have an understanding of constructive play which is very important for the development of learners’ physical intelligence. One of the factors reported to be the cause of the poor quality of their practices was the critical shortage of funding for practitioners’ professional training. Moreover, shortage of funds also contributed to poor and inappropriate infrastructure and a lack of resources and teaching aids. This study, therefore, recommends that the quality of ECD programmes could be one of the prime contributors to the quality and effectiveness of ECD provisioning.

Multicultural education is only one of the major changes since the inception of the new democracy in South Africa. However, this inevitable change has resulted in many challenges for educators and educational institutions in the Isipingo District, KwaZulu Natal (KZN). One of the primary responsibilities of a teacher is to manage diversity. The research addressed here focused on challenges experienced by Grade R teachers to create and maintain an unbiased classroom environment for Grade R learners in the Isipingo District, (KZN). A literature review regarding unbiased classroom environments for Grade R learners as well as an empirical investigation using a qualitative approach was conducted. A semi-structured focus group interview and a follow-up focus group interview with Grade R teachers from 3 different public multicultural primary schools were used for data gathering. The findings indicated that Grade R teachers lack the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to enhance unbiased classroom environments. The results of the investigation also indicated that teachers require effective training to help them cope with creating and managing unbiased classroom environments. / Teacher Education / M.Ed. (Specialisation in Early Childhood Development)

Multicultural education is only one of the major changes since the inception of the new democracy in South Africa. However, this inevitable change has resulted in many challenges for educators and educational institutions in the Isipingo District, KwaZulu Natal (KZN). One of the primary responsibilities of a teacher is to manage diversity. The research addressed here focused on challenges experienced by Grade R teachers to create and maintain an unbiased classroom environment for Grade R learners in the Isipingo District, (KZN). A literature review regarding unbiased classroom environments for Grade R learners as well as an empirical investigation using a qualitative approach was conducted. A semi-structured focus group interview and a follow-up focus group interview with Grade R teachers from 3 different public multicultural primary schools were used for data gathering. The findings indicated that Grade R teachers lack the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to enhance unbiased classroom environments. The results of the investigation also indicated that teachers require effective training to help them cope with creating and managing unbiased classroom environments. / Teacher Education / M.Ed. (Specialisation in Early Childhood Development)