The study contributed to preschool education by highlighting the attitudes and perceptions of parents and preschool teachers and practitioners concerning preschool education in general, and the teaching of thinking skills in particular. Furthermore, information with regard to developing guidelines for a preschool learning programme to assist unqualified and underqualified preschool practitioners in predominantly rural areas was generated. The literature study revealed that all areas of development, that is, cognitive, physical, social, moral and emotional are interrelated. Therefore, development in cognition is influenced by, and influences the other areas. Cognitive development in particular, is most rapid during the preschool years and should be stimulated at this stage. A qualitative study was undertaken to determine the attitudes and perceptions of preschool teachers/practitioners and parents with regard to preschool education in general, and the teaching of thinking skills to enhance cognitive development in particular. Four preschools in Region 3 of the Northern Province were observed to investigate the teaching of thinking skills and also the learning programmes used in these institutions. The findings from the literature and research studies led to the following conclusions: * Parents are uninformed concerning their role in stimulating the cognitive development of their children. * Preschool education is regarded as being very important for children. * There are no prescribed learning programmes or explicitly stated guidelines underlying preschool education. * Thinking skills are taught to a greater or lesser extent in preschools, although the intentional mediation is missing. *The training of preschool practitioners is a neglected area. In view of the conclusions, the following recommendations were made: * Underqualified and unqualified preschool practitioners should receive training. * Partnership between parents and preschool practitioners should be encouraged to ensure continuity between the home and the preschool. * Parents' support programmes should be developed to empower them as their children's most significant mediators. * Thinking skills should be infused in preschool learning programmes and activities. * Remote, rural areas should be supported by the goverment and NGOs with the provision of preschool education. * Prescribed guidelines and learning programmes should be developed to assist unqualified and underqualified practitioners in rural and disadvantaged areas in the Northern Province. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Opióides são substâncias de origem endógena ou sintética, referindo-se a todos os compostos relacionados ao ópio, sendo o protótipo dos agonistas opióides, a morfina, conhecida pela sua capacidade de aliviar a dor intensa com eficácia. A morfina se liga a pelo menos três tipos de receptores conhecidos como &#181;, <font face=\"symbol\">k e <font face=\"symbol\">d. Os opióides parecem ter relação a comportamentos reprodutivos, dentre estes o comportamento maternal (CM). O CM é complexo, instintivo e com características espécie-específicas determinadas por modificações fisiológicas que ocorrem pouco antes ou logo após o parto e deve ajustar-se à uma série de variáveis como disponibilidade de alimentos, por exemplo, e influencia diretamente nos desenvolvimentos físico, neurológico e comportamental das proles, garantindo ou não a perpetuação dessas espécies. Trabalhos mostraram que os estados fisiológico, reprodutivo e a manipulação farmacológica com morfina ao final da gestação de ratas, por si só, são capazes de alterar a habilidade materna, comprometendo o desenvolvimento das proles, bem como podem modular a expressão dos genes que codificam para os receptores opióides em regiões implicadas com o controle do CM, porém são desconhecidos os resultados de ratas tratadas com esse opióide nas fases iniciais da gestação, objetivo deste trabalho, bem como os parâmetros físico e neurocomportamental das proles e na biologia molecular de receptores opióides em diferentes regiões encefálicas tanto nas proles quanto nas mães. Os resultados mostraram que tratamento com morfina no primeiro e segundo terços da gestação de ratas alterou alguns parâmetros do CM como a recuperação dos filhotes, e alterou alguns parâmetros do desenvolvimento físico como o ganho de peso e o desenvolvimento dos órgãos sexuais e desenvolvimento neurocomportamental em ambas as proles, bem como os padrões de expressão gênica e produtos protéicos nas mães e em suas proles no estriado, hipotálamo e PAG. Conclui-se, portanto que o tratamento com morfina durante a gestação de ratas pode alterar o estado fisiológico das mães com implicações diretas nas proles. / Opioids are substances of endogenous or synthetic origin, referring to all related opiate compounds, the prototype of the opioid agonists, morphine, known for its ability to relieve severe pain effectively. Morphine binds to at least three types of receptors known as &#181;, <font face=\"symbol\">d and <font face=\"symbol\">k. Opioids appear to be related to reproductive behaviors among this maternal behavior (CM). The CM is complex, instinctive and species-specific characteristics determined by physiological changes that occur shortly before or after delivery and must adjust to a number of variables such as food availability, for example, and directly influences the physical developments, neurological and behavior of the offspring, or not ensuring the perpetuation of the species. Studies have shown that the physiological and pharmacological manipulation reproductive states with morphine to rats in late pregnancy, by themselves, are capable of altering the maternal ability, affecting the development of the offspring, and can modulate the expression of genes encoding the opioid receptors in regions implicated in the control of CM, are unknown but the results of this opioid-treated rats in the early stages of pregnancy, aim of this work as well as the physical and neurobehavioral parameters of the offspring and molecular biology of opioid receptors in different brain regions both in the offspring as mothers. The results showed that morphine treatment in the first two thirds of pregnancy of rats changed some parameters of the CM as the recovery of the puppies, and changed some of the physical parameters such as weight gain and the development of sex organs and neurobehavioral development in both offspring as well as the patterns of gene expression and protein products in mothers and their offspring in the striatum, hypothalamus and PAG. It follows therefore that treatment with morphine during pregnancy in rats can alter the physiological status of mothers with direct implications in offspring.

Comparing of different sporting activities and their impact on the components of physical development. Finding the current offer of physical activities and children's interests in various activities. Selection of appropriate activities, preparation of the annual plan, assessing the financial, time and human resources. Creating a concept of generally focused multidisciplinary sport club for the development of motor skills and increase physical fitness. Raising children's knowledges of sports activities, building interest in active leisure, growing relationship to sport activities, increasing the relationship to nature and physical activities in the open space, improving social relations. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Reforms that have taken place in the South African education system since 1994 have led to changes in terms of how learning areas are taught in schools. There have been changes regarding the teaching of physical development activities in schools in recent years. Physical education as a subject was infused within life orientation (LO) as a learning area with physical development activities as one of the outcomes. The time to teach physical development activities has been reduced as other learning outcomes within LO have to be taught. This has led to situations where the teaching of physical development activities is undermined in many schools. Pressure to perform well in learning areas such as mathematics and literacy makes educators to devote less time on the teaching of physical development activities. To a larger extent, financial resources on the other hand, are being directed to other learning areas due to pressure to conform to international education standards. There is a need for school leaders to respond to new conditions of teaching. This research project deals with the leadership practices of heads of department (HODs) in the implementation of physical development activities. The study aims to investigate how HODs lead and manage the educators who teach physical development activities. Among other things, the study will focus on the HODs‟ leadership styles relevant to the teaching of physical development activities. The study will also look at challenges they experience in their departments, training needs and how they keep balance between teaching and monitoring educators who teach physical development activities. The researcher used qualitative research approach to collect information for the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two HODs and four educators in two primary schools. The findings indicate that lack of experience and specialisation in the teaching of physical development activities has an influence on the HODs leadership style. More support is needed in the teaching of physical development activities in order to boost the confidence of those who are teaching this part of the learning area. Deployment of staff members to the relevant positions is one of the priority areas. An implication for schools, particularly HODs and school management teams is that the teaching of physical development activities is as important as the teaching of other learning areas. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

The thesis deals with the problematics of movement versatility of younger school children at school PT and athletic sport training. The main target is using testing for measuring level of motor skills all round development. The theoretical part contains the description of terms as motor skills, practical training and its didactic aspects, all round development, effect of exercise on health, younger school children and specifics of training children of this age. The practical part focuses on testing the motor skills of younger school children and the results of performing the tests. One part of the tested sample is looking into the motor skills of those attending the athletic sport training and the other analyses the motor skills versality of the basic school children who do not attend any sports prep regularly. This thesis results may initiate the first grade teachers and the sports prep trainers to more thorough work with the less developed motor skilled.

Studien undersöker hur sju förskollärare tolkar och arbetar med barns motoriska träning i den pedagogiska verksamheten samt om hur de anser att barns motorik påverkar utveckling och lärande. Den empiriska undersökningen utgår från en kvalitativ ansats med semistruktuerade intervjuer utifrån två frågeställningar: Hur resonerar förskollärare om motorisk träning kopplat till barns utveckling och lärande? Samt På vilka sätt utmanas barnen till motorisk träning på förskolan, enligt förskollärarna?. Resultatet visar att majoriteten av förskollärarna uttrycker att motorisk träning vanligtvis sker via oplanerade aktiviteter och att fokus för planeringen ligger på andra mål i förskolans läroplan. Vidare visar resultatet på vikten av att vara närvarande för att upptäcka barns eventuella motoriska svårigheter i tidiga år i syfte att kunna stötta barnens vidareutveckling, enligt förskollärarnas utsagor. Det uttrycks även att förhållningsätt och kunskaper om motorik utgör gränser i arbetet med motoriska aktiviteter och att förskollärarna är medvetna om att motorik innehåller både fin- och grovmotorik, men att det praktiska arbetet skiljer sig åt genom att de nästan enbart beskriver ett grovmotoriskt arbete. / The study examines how seven preschool teachers interpret and work with children's motor training in the educational activities and how they believe that children's motor skills affect development and learning. The empirical study is based on a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews based on two questions: How do preschool teachers reason about motor training linked to children's development and learning? And In what ways are children challenged to motor training in preschool, according to preschool teachers?. The results show that the majority of preschool teachers express that motor training usually takes place via unplanned activities and that the focus for planning is on other goals in the preschool curriculum. Furthermore, the results show the importance of being present to detect children's possible motor difficulties in the early years in order to be able to support the children's further development, according to the preschool teachers' statements. It is also stated that attitudes and knowledge about motor skills constitute limits in the work with motor activities and that preschool teachers are aware that motor skills contain both fine and gross motor skills, but that the practical work differs in that they almost only describe gross motor work.

This research explores the training needs of nannies in the United Kingdom in terms of the content and structure of introductory training. The research question formulated for this study is: What are the introductory training needs of nannies in the United Kingdom? The researcher approached the study qualitatively and empirical data was collected by means of a focus group discussion with a group of nannies. Empirical data indicates that nannies need training regarding: • The professional aspect of nannying; • the physical, emotional, and intellectual needs of children; • the various developmental levels of children and the role of the nanny within each phase; • working with parents; • different religions and cultures and their childcare practices. It was found that nannies need training that is structured in an affordable, brief, specific and practical way. The study therefore reveals that nannies have specific needs regarding both the content and structure of childcare training. / Thesis (M. Ed.)

Title: Changes in physical performance of Children at Athletic Preparatory Objectives: Aim of this paper is the diagnosis of physical and technical readiness of young children that are regularly preparing in an athletic course as a preparation for joining ASK Slavia Praha and their readiness for the next step of basic training. Methods: observation, videoanalysis, motor tests Results: During diagnostics of physical readiness via repeated use of a battery of motor tests (60m run, long jump, ball throw, 600m run) it was proven that majority of subjects showed a steady increase in performance. Only with technical activities (long jump, ball throw) there was sometimes a decrease in the results of some children. Also, in these activities the differences among results of subjects started to increase. More talented children increased their results by much more than the less handy. On the contrary, the differences among children in 600m run decreased over time. Key words: Athletic preparation, physical preparation, technical preparation, training, skills, children, athletics, coach, physical development, image sequence from video

A infância e a adolescência são consideradas fases que envolvem uma série de transformações entre as quais merecem destaque o crescimento físico e desenvolvimento acelerados que são determinantes de uma maior demanda de energia e nutrientes. É fundamental que os indivíduos adotem alimentação balanceada no tocante à energia e nutrientes para que as mudanças na composição corporal e maturação sexual, entre outras demandas, sejam asseguradas. Entre os objetivos principais da pesquisa destacam-se a análise do estado nutricional, consumo de energia e nutrientes e a participação dos macronutrientes na dieta de amostra de 1325 escolares, matriculados em vinte unidades de ensino de dez municípios brasileiros. Os dados referentes ao consumo de alimentos foram obtidos por meio da adoção do método Recordatório 24- horas. Para a elaboração das análises nutricionais foi utilizado o software Virtual Nutri (Philippi et al., 1996). Os resultados revelam ingestão média de energia (1503,4 kcal) que pode ser considerada menor que à recomendação definida para os alunos do grupo etário da amostra. Quando se analisou a situação dos escolares, de acordo com a participação dos macronutrientes no Valor Energético Total da Dieta - VET, observouse que, de forma geral, a maioria (55%) adota dieta inadequada, sendo que as situações mais desfavoráveis atingem os estudantes dos municípios das Regiões Nordeste (Parnaíba e Brasileira) e Norte (Abaetetuba e Tailândia). Situação inversa foi identificada no tocante às dietas dos escolares de Joinville-SC (71,3% do grupo adotavam dietas adequadas). A análise do estado nutricional revelou que é nula a prevalência de baixo peso entre os alunos da totalidade das vinte escolas integrantes da pesquisa. De foram geral a maioria (cerca de 92,6%) foi classificada como eutrófica e proporção de escolares próxima à esperada identificada com sobrepeso. No entanto, nos municípios da Região Sul, os resultados distinguem-se pela superioridade da prevalência de sobrepeso em relação aos demais: proporções de escolares (14,7%) de Joinville e 16,3%, em Ponte Serrada foram diagnosticados com excesso de peso. Note-se que os referidos percentuais são praticamente três vezes maiores quando comparados à proporção observada (5%) em populações considerado de referência. Quanto ao consumo de minerais, merece atenção a reduzida ingestão de cálcio (a maioria dos escolares não ingeriu 50% do valor preconizado). O consumo (médio) de praticamente a totalidade das vitaminas selecionadas pode ser considerado relativamente mais favorável, exceto quando se verifica, entre os alunos a baixa ingestão de folacina e ácido pantotênico. A reduzida presença de fibras da dieta da totalidade dos escolares causa preocupação, especialmente quando atenção é dirigida aos valores preconizados (25 a 38g/dia): o maior consumo foi observado entre os alunos de Parnaiba (14,3 g), enquanto em Joinville, a ingestão alcançou 7,9 g (menor quantidade média identificada). Não sobram dúvidas que o grupo formado por crianças e adolescentes, especialmente aqueles matriculados nas unidades da rede pública de ensino, merece a atenção dos órgãos de saúde e educação, principalmente no tocante ao monitoramento do consumo de alimentos. / Childhood and adolescence are considered periods that involve a series of changes in which some of them are worth enlightening: the physical growth and development that requires a higher intake of energy and nutrients. It is important that these subjects have a balanced food intake concerning energy and nutrients to reassure that the changes such as in body composition and sexual maturation are guaranteed. One of the most important goals of this work is the assessesment of the nutritional status, the energy and nutrients intake, and the macronutrients present in diets of a sample of 1325 students, enrolled in 20 public schools in 10 Brazilian states. The data on the students food intake were obtained using the 24-hour Recall Method. To the nutritional analyses the software Virtual Nutri was used. It was identified among the main findings an average of energy intake (1503.4 kcal) which was considered below the recommended allowance for the group. When the distribution of the students according to the participation of the macronutrients in the total energy value of the diet was analyzed, it was observed that most of them (55%) has inadequate diets, being the worst situations among students of the Northeast Region (Parnaíba and Brasileira) and the North Region (Abaetetuba and Tailândia). The opposite was found among the students from Joinville-SC (71,3% of the group had diets classified as adequate). The analyses of the nutritional status found no prevalence of low weight among the students in the study. Most of them (around 92.6%) were classified as eutrophic and an expected rate (5%) was identified as overweight. Nonetheless among the students from Joinville (14.7%) and Ponte Serrada (16.3%) the results related to overweightness (percentages practically 3 times higher) distinguished by the superiority over the others. Regarding the consumption of minerals, it is surprisingly the low intake of calcium: most of them hadn’t had 50% of the recommended allowance. In relation to the average intake of vitamins the situation can be classified as more regular, except when the reduced intake of folacin and pantotenic acid is considered. The average content of fibers in the diets of all the students is cause of worries especially when the recommended daily allowance (25 to 38g): the highest intake was observed in students from Paraiba (14.3g) and the lowest was identified in students from Joinville. There are no doubts that the group of children and adolescents, especially the ones who attend public schools deserve close attention from the health and educational institutions concerning to food comsuption.

This research explores the training needs of nannies in the United Kingdom in terms of the content and structure of introductory training. The research question formulated for this study is: What are the introductory training needs of nannies in the United Kingdom? The researcher approached the study qualitatively and empirical data was collected by means of a focus group discussion with a group of nannies. Empirical data indicates that nannies need training regarding: • The professional aspect of nannying; • the physical, emotional, and intellectual needs of children; • the various developmental levels of children and the role of the nanny within each phase; • working with parents; • different religions and cultures and their childcare practices. It was found that nannies need training that is structured in an affordable, brief, specific and practical way. The study therefore reveals that nannies have specific needs regarding both the content and structure of childcare training. / Thesis (M. Ed.)