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This research aimed to find out (1) what prior knowledge, skills and classroom practice teachers have and how they demonstrate their competence in implementing group play-based pedagogy; and (2) how a professional development programme assists teachers to implement play-based group pedagogy to develop oral communication skills in young learners.Setting: The study took place in the Owerri Education Zone in the eastern part of Nigeria. Methods:The researchers implemented a participatory action research (PAR) design. Nine participants were purposively selected from a cohort of teachers who taught the 5-9-year age group. Teacher participants responded to the semistructured interviews and observational schedules used as tools for data collection. The researchers used inductive thematic data analysis techniques to make sense of the data. This was performed in three phases: sorting the data and organising them in data sets, after which the analysis process commenced.Results: Findings from the study showed that although the participants had a fair understanding of play-based pedagogy, they did not know how to operationalise their understanding of play-based pedagogy directed at oral communication Conclusion:The participants gained expert knowledge of play pedagogies that require children to increase oral language use in interaction with each other, using vocabulary and phrases introduced by the teacher as scaffolding for their communication.

According to the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (Shonkoff et al. 2011:6), environments that enhance executive functioning depend on adult-child relationships that guide Background: The Foundation Phase in education provides the primary building blocks for children's foundation and development. From personal experiences as educators, we observed that young learners who work together in small groups during art activities gain selfconfidence faster than indecisive learners who work alone. Indecisive learners become hesitant and lack confidence when they are allowed own choices during art activities. In line with Vygotsky's social constructivism, this article assumed that social interaction fosters learning and development in learners. Aim:The aim of this study was to observe whether group work promotes decisive behaviour and self-confidence in learners.Setting: A group of five Grade R learners in a privately owned pre-primary school in Pretoria was targeted for the purpose of this investigation. Methods: This article followed a qualitative approach in the form of a multiple case study that focused on four young learners who showed indecisive behaviour and one learner who showed decisive behaviour during a visual art activity. Learners' conversations and participation were observed and recorded as they used photographs and artefacts in the group art activity.Results: Over time, the four indecisive learners had improved and gained confidence towards decisiveness. These results support Vygotsky's theory that skilled learners can scaffold the unskilled ones to reach their full potential. Conclusion:The results in this article point to the importance of collaborative learning in classrooms to improve confidence and decision-making. It is, therefore, recommended that teachers use a group work strategy to improve learning and decisiveness in classrooms.

The demand for mainstream South African schools to adopt inclusive education research recommendations is rising exponentially. The COVID-19 pandemic effects compound curriculum access difficulties for children with cerebral palsy. In addition, the COVID-19 virus emergence exposed longstanding home-schooling endangerments. As part of a larger study, this chapter is a sequel to a qualitative, descriptive multiple case study interviewing 15 teachers from three schools, three coordinators of the school-based support teams, and the district-based support team coordinators in Limpopo Province. The study drew from Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems, Piaget's cognitive development, and Vygotsky's sociocultural theories to investigate stakeholders' understanding of inclusive education. During the lockdown period, follow-up online interviews with the school-based support team (SBST) identified a continuous fragmentation of IE stakeholders' responsibilities. They recommended a community of practice (CoP) approach that advocated expediting the implementation of recommendations.

Rights and responsibilities are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa but are disregarded in many ways in the education of young children. This article focuses on comparing the experiences and perceptions of Grade 3 children of their rights and responsibilities across diverse school settings. The comparison of data sets highlighted reciprocity in children's experiences and showed challenges and gaps in children's education of rights and responsibilities. This research was qualitative in nature, using a multiple case study design with ninety-six (n=96) participating children. Data gathering occurred through interviews, observation, documents, field notes and visual artefacts made by the participating children. The findings were that education firstly advances children's understanding and knowledge of their rights and responsibilities. Secondly, basic needs of children have a significant effect on their understanding of their rights and responsibilities with the emphasis on rights. Children's perceptions of their rights and responsibilities were juxtaposed to assist in finding similarities and differences in their perceptions. Thirdly, the participant children understood that people have needs and rights; they communicated that these rights must be recognised to safeguard a sustainable standard of life.