Resumen

LOUBSER, Annemarie; PIENAAR, Anita E  y  KLOPPER, Audrey. The relation between selected biographical variables and the attitude of Grade R teachers towards the development of perceptual motor skills of Grade R learners. Tydskr. geesteswet. [online]. 2016, vol.56, n.2-2, pp.678-692. ISSN 2224-7912.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2224-7912/2016/v56n2-2a10.

The development of perceptual motor skills of Grade R learners can possibly be influenced by the attitude of the Grade R teacher, and this can contribute to the fact that Grade R learners are found to be not school ready in Grade 1. A positive attitude with Grade R teachers will promote the development of perceptual motor skills, while a negative attitude may prevent perceptual motor skills from being addressed effectively. During this research, a quantitative method was followed to establish whether the development of perceptual motor skills can be influenced by the attitude of the Grade R teacher, and the research was undertaken from apost-positivistic perspective. The respondents (n = 25) were selected according to availability, and they completed self-compiled questionnaires which were available in Afrikaans and/or English. The questionnaires were completed by Grade R teachers teaching in quintile 1 (n=5) (informal settlements); quintile 2 (n=4); quintile 3 (n=7); quintile 4 (n=4) and quintile 5 (n=5) (formal residential area) schools. The Department of Basic Education grades schools in quintiles according to the availability of learning and teaching support material (LTSM) as well as the area in which the school is situated. Results from this research were statistically analysed by means of descriptive statistics as well as Spearman's rank correlation, in order to analyse relationships between the amount of time devoted to teaching subjects in Grade R, the age and experience of Grade R teachers, as well as the socio-economic environment and the number of learners in the class on the one hand with the time spent on subjects in Grade R on the other hand. Two-way frequency tables with Chi square tests and Cramer's V were utilised to establish the strength of the relationships between race, language of teaching and learning and questions relating to attitude. A significant relationship was found between the age of Grade R teachers, their experience, the number of learners in the class, the socio economic environment and the time allocated to specific subjects. From the results it can be deduced that older teachers with little experience, with inadequate qualifications to teach Grade R, and teaching in overcrowded classes, devote less time to teaching various subjects. Results also show that sufficient LTSM is essential in order to effectively present the subject Life Skills, which includes teaching of perceptual motor skills. If these aspects are addressed by in-service training, the attitude of the teachers towards Life Skills will be affected positively, which in turn will benefit the development of learners 'perceptual motor skills and reflect in the school readiness of Grade 1 learners. If these aspects were addressed by in-service training, the attitude of the teachers towards Life Skills would be affected positively, which would in turn benefit the development of learners' perceptual motor skills, eventually to be reflected in the school readiness of Grade 1 learners.

Palabras clave : attitude; Grade R; Grade R teachers; perceptual motor skills; Life Skills; school readiness.

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