Development of a „physical education“ toolkit for KaziKidz Grade R, validated based on the Namibian curriculum

Background: As low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) evolve socio-economically, traditional lifestyles and diets are changing, leading to increasing physical inactivity among a large proportion of children. Many LMICs are currently affected by the dual burden of communicable diseases (CD) and non-communicable diseases (NCD). One cause of many non-communicable diseases can be physical inactivity, which the KaziBantu project was launched in South Africa in 2017 to address. Its goal is to achieve long-term positive changes in the health of school children and teachers in resource-poor areas. With KaziKidz, the project has created a holistic educational and teaching tool that supports and promotes a healthy lifestyle from childhood to adolescence in a playful way. The focus of this master thesis was on the development of a KaziKidz toolkit for preschool age, which was adapted to the Namibian curriculum and developed in cooperation with the University of Namibia (UNAM). It provides a basis for possible future collaboration with low-resource schools in Namibia.
Methods: The development of a toolkit for KaziKidz Grade R, validated against the Namibian curriculum, was preceded by an extensive literature review on the state of health in Namibia on age-related characteristics of Grade R children and on the Namibian education system and teachers working in that system. Various resources were used to develop the lessons, such as the Namibian pre-primary curriculum and teacher's manual, expert opinions from UNAM were included and their and our own practical experiences, as well as academic literature on physical education in these schools.
Results: The result of this master's thesis is a first version of 32 lesson plans for teaching physical education in preschool Grade R. They have been designed in a graphic and drawing style, are appropriate for the age group of young children, have been adapted to the Namibian pre-primary curriculum and take into account the environmental factors of low-resource schools. To ensure compatibility, the structure and design of the toolkit is the same as the existing KaziKidz Grade 1-7 toolkit.
Conclusion: In LMICs, about 50% of children do not achieve the recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day. School is an ideal setting to increase physical activity in everyday life. The KaziKidz physical education toolkit can help Grade R learners from disadvantaged schools in rural areas of Namibia to improve their physical and mental health in a fun way.