AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF 5-YEAR-OLD SOUTH-AFRICAN CHILDREN IN THE YEAR BEFORE SCHOOL

This paper presents data from an observational investigation of 80 African children growing up at home in the year before school. Data cover aspects of social interaction, language use, activity patterns, and object utilisation. Gender differences are examined, and results are compared with those from observational studies of Euro-American children of similar age. These data provide baseline data on black South African children, about whom relatively little has been published, and offers insight into the everyday lives of preschool-aged children from the developing world.