Development and setting specific validation of a children`s physical education pro-gram for disadvantaged South African primary schools - grades 1 to 3

Background
Children need physical activity of moderate-to-vigorous intensity for at least 60 minutes a day to achieve effects on physical capability as well as cognitive, social and emotional develop-ment. Many children in low- to middle-income countries, particularly from marginalized communities, do not achieve this requirement. This also applies to South Africa. The school, therefore, plays an important role in making a meaningful contribution to the goal of achiev-ing daily physical activity recommendations by incorporating physical education (PE) lessons into the school curriculum.
Methods
The comprehensive knowledge for the development of setting- and level-specific lessons was acquired by literature research of both Swiss and South African teaching aids as well as by various meetings with local teachers, experts and advisors. 96 pedagogically-didactically cus-tomized physical education lessons were tested, improved and revised during the pilot phase between October and November 2017 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Results
The KaziBantu physical education team developed one physical education lesson of 40 minutes per week as well as ready-to-use assessments to supplement the school`s academic curricula for grade 1 to 3 (foundation face) over 32 weeks of a school year. These setting-specific lessons impart age-specific motor competences in a synthesizing way. The content of the lessons follows the curriculum assessment policy statement from South Africa.
Conclusions
When implementing the developed teaching materials, it will be important to address local and school specificities and make adjustments to the teaching materials where deemed necessary. The KaziBantu physical education team is aware of the complicated feasibility of implementing the developed educational materials and strives for sustainability.