University of Namibia (UNAM)

University of Namibia’s mandate: To provide higher education, undertake research, advance and disseminate knowledge, to provide extension services, to encourage the growth and nurturing of cultural expressions within the context of the Namibian society, to further training and continuing education, contribute to social and economic development of Namibia, and to foster relationships with any person or institution both nationally and internationally – University of Namibia Act of 1992 (Act 18 of 1992).

Mission statement: To contribute to the achievement of national and international development goals through the pursuit of translational research, quality training and innovation.

Vision statement: To be a sustainable international hub of excellence in higher education, training, research and innovation by 2030.

Core values: The following core values define our code of conduct, behaviour, ethics guidelines, interactions and decision-making (hiring, promotion and relationships building).

• Professionalism: A commitment to and dedication in relations with other people, and competence in the workplace. The key associated behaviours include excellence, effectiveness, ethics, kindness and politeness.
• Equity: Refers to fair and impartial treatment of colleagues, customers and stakeholders, regardless of differences. Fairness, patience, tolerance and embracing diversity are the key associated behaviours for equity.
• Integrity: Refers to honesty and loyalty in our conduct with others. Integrity is associated with key behaviours such as openness, trustworthiness, reliability and dependability.
• Accountability: Due diligence in completing assigned tasks, while also taking responsibility for actions. UNAM identifies accountability with due diligence, transparency, responsibility and commitment as the key associated behaviours.

As the Associate Dean of the School for Allied Health Sciences at the University of Namibia (UNAM) and a committee member of the National Integrated Physical Education and School Committee, the team lead assumes a crucial role in coordinating and guiding the team towards the achievement of specific outcomes in educational training.

In his role as the team lead, he plays a critical part in coordinating and guiding the team towards achieving specific outcomes. Acting as a crucial link between management and team members, he provides leadership, support, and ensure effective communication. The team lead is responsible for resource allocation, ensuring the team has the necessary tools, information, and support to accomplish their objectives. Moreover, the team lead fosters a positive and harmonious team environment. Additionally, the team lead has the important duty of monitoring and reporting on team performance, including generating regular reports and ensuring compliance. This aspect is effectively managed by the team lead, who plays a pivotal role in leading, supporting, and coordinating the team to achieve desired outcomes. The team leads’ responsibilities encompass overseeing operations, mentoring team members, and promoting collaborations.

The team lead and supporting team members are well-positioned to effectively support the Leveraging Evidence for Action to Promote Change (LEAP) Project. Their expertise, knowledge, and skills align with the project's goals, and they possess the necessary capabilities to contribute to its success. UNAM's fundamental focus on providing quality education and advancing knowledge directly aligns with the objectives of the LEAP Project. Our institution emphasizes academic excellence, research, and the dissemination of knowledge, all of which are crucial aspects of the LEAP Project's goals to improve learning outcomes.

UNAM's commitment to faculty and student development further reinforces our readiness to support initiatives like the LEAP Project. We prioritize supporting the holistic development of our students and offer various services that foster their growth. Moreover, UNAM's emphasis on research and innovation aligns with the LEAP Project's focus on evidence-based practices. We encourage faculty and students to engage in research activities and provide them with the necessary support, including funding, infrastructure, and collaboration opportunities. This enables them to contribute to knowledge creation, societal development, and the advancement of academic disciplines.

UNAM also actively engages with the broader community, addressing societal challenges and promoting social responsibility. Through partnerships, outreach programs, and knowledge dissemination, we strive to contribute to national development and positive change. Our commitment to inclusive education, diversity, and ethical conduct ensures that everyone feels valued and supported within our community.

Furthermore, sustainability is a priority at UNAM, and we integrate principles of sustainable development into our operations, curriculum, and research activities. By raising awareness about environmental issues and promoting responsible behavior, we contribute to the sustainable development of Namibia and the region.

With our team's expertise, commitment to academic excellence, and alignment with the project's goals, we are confident in our ability to effectively support the LEAP Project while managing other organizational priorities. Our Team Lead and team members will leverage their skills, resource management capabilities, and dedication to ensure the project's success and accelerate its impact through evidence-based practices. Through our strong foundation in quality education, research, academic excellence, student development, community engagement, inclusivity, diversity, and sustainability, we are well-aligned to support initiatives like the LEAP Project, ultimately improving learning outcomes and driving positive change.

KaziKidz Pre-Primary Teaching Material for Physical Education - A School Readiness Programme (Namibian Edition): Resources for Pre-Primary Teachers

The KaziKidz teaching material – a holistic educational and instructional tool for Pre-Primary and Primary school teachers - aims to support physical literacy in the early years and encourages daily active play.

KaziKidz aims to contribute to lifelong physical activity among learners. It arose from the project KaziBantu. Kazi means ‘active’ in Swahili and Bantu means ‘people’ in Xhosa, two of the national languages of South Africa. Through the implementation of Physical Education (PE), Moving-to-Music, Health-and-Hygiene and Nutrition education lessons the toolkit aims to enhance children’s overall health in disadvantaged South African and Namibian primary schools. This KaziKidz teaching material consists of lesson plans within each of the aforementioned content pillars. The lessons have been designed in conjunction with the Namibian curriculum and are supported by the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED), Okahandja, Namibia, and the UNESCO team Namibia under the leadership of Director Mr. Djaffar Moussa-Elkadhum.

The aim is to lead learners through content, games and activities, partly supported by music, and conducted in a joyful manner that encourages and promotes a healthy lifestyle throughout childhood into adolescence. By using the KaziKidz teaching material, teachers contribute to the wellbeing and health of the learners. To make a meaningful contribution to health at schools, establishing class procedures and routines at the beginning of the programme may encourage order in your class. This may take some time at first, but will prove helpful in ensuring an enjoyable class. The Moving-to-Music classes have options for creating your own music through drums or any other form of percussion or clapping. Thandi and lesson plans in red will guide you through the Moving-to-Music teaching material. Kazi and lesson plans in blue will guide you through the PE teaching material. While neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) do not feature prominently in the burden of disease statistics of Namibia some NTDs are common in disadvantaged populations, especially in children growing up in poor neighborhoods. Chronic helminth infections (worms) not only cause morbidity, but also negatively affect the cognitive and physical development and school performance of children. By addressing these conditions through education about appropriate health and hygiene behaviours for your schoolchild, both you and the schoolchild are at a reduced risk for infectious communicable diseases. The general wellbeing of primary schoolchildren from poor neighbourhoods may also be affected by lack of nutritional value, since schoolchildren usually eat food served by tuck shops and vendors during school hours. In order to address this issue, the nutritional education lessons should bring dietetics closer to the learners in a playful way. Furthermore, the lessons aim to encourage sustainable healthy eating habits throughout a learners life. Kazi and lesson plans in green will guide you through the Health, Hygiene and Nutrition teaching materials.

Ready-made KaziKidz lessons support and empower teachers to conduct Quality Physical Education (QPE) in low-resource settings, simultaneously considering common barriers such as big class size, facilities, equipment and supplies. The toolkit should imply as few inhibitions as possible and no additional burden should be felt due to the implementation of KaziKidz lessons. The KaziKidz activities are designed to facilitate a big class size and always offer the option to use no equipment or self-made sport material. Teachers who are not appropriately trained in PE are able to follow the clear structure and instructions of the KaziKidz lessons.

The KaziKidz programme is designed to assist and encourage teachers to provide educationally sound and age appropriate movement experiences for young children. One main goal of the KaziKidz lessons is to support and empower teachers, to execute Physical Education lessons with ready-made PE, Moving-to-Music and Health, Hygiene and Nutrition lessons for Healthy Schools in Healthy Communities. Ready-made lessons provide teachers with movement content for primary school aged children. The programme is activity based and designed to assist children to learn and practice the skills essential for enjoyable and rewarding participation in sport and physical activity. Some of the exercises suggested in the appendices have been adapted from KaziKidz Grade 1 and simplified to make them age appropriate as they share similar frameworks. In addition, repetition has been deliberately used in the exercises at this level. The lessons are developmentally and didactically sound for meeting the needs of each targeted age group and allow for repetition to facilitate learning. The lessons can also be adapted by using improvised equipment in the event of sport material not being available. Teachers are often overloaded with tasks and duties and therefore may need support and tools to facilitate their work. The main goals of the KaziBantu project are in line with UNESCO’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), namely ‘good health and well-being’ (SDG 3) and ‘quality education’ (SDG 4). All lessons have been developed by a team of South African, Namibian and Swiss specialists, including teachers who are familiar with the challenges in low-resourced settings.

The inclusion of all schoolchildren is crucial and central. KaziKidz aims at providing Quality Physical Education (QPE) for all participants and offers the opportunity for learners with disabilities to participate. Especially the Moving-to-Music lessons engage learners and teachers to create a non-judgemental atmosphere in which schoolchildren have the opportunity to enrich their personal resources by moving, combined with a supportive togetherness aimed at providing a safe, noncompetitive platform. The approach of creative dance offers lay teachers the opportunity to lead a dance lesson, without requiring any experience or understanding of
the basic techniques in dance. Creative dance does not require demonstrated movements, which offers a great opportunity for the KaziBantu project, given the barriers and problems in the townships of South Africa and Namibia. The implementation of KaziKidz may promote group cohesion and helps learners to develop a sense of belonging within a group.

Summative research (e.g. correlational studies; quasi-experimental studies; randomized control studies). Our most recent peer-reviewed articles, dissertations and graduate theses can be seen here.

The positive outcomes of the pilot test of the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching tool in public schools in Windhoek in 2022 highlight its effectiveness and potential benefits for educators in Pre-Primary education. The fact that teachers expressed interest and goodwill towards the teaching material indicates that it resonated with their needs and expectations.

Teachers perceived the toolkit it as a valuable resource that simplified their teaching situation. The KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching tool (with link to download here) offers content, activities, or features that align with the curriculum requirements and teaching methods used in Pre-Primary education. It may have provided them with practical tools, innovative teaching approaches, or engaging materials that made their teaching more effective and enjoyable.

The positive feedback received from the pilot test serves as a solid foundation for further development and implementation of the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching tool. The survey results, which are available upon request, can offer deeper insights into the teachers' perceptions, experiences, and suggestions for improvement.

Moreover, the survey results can guide decisions regarding the dissemination and implementation of the tool in other schools or educational settings. Understanding the teachers' experiences and perceptions can inform strategies for scaling up the use of the tool, including potential training requirements, support systems, and strategies for successful adoption.

In summary, the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching tool in the pilot test signifies its potential to bring about positive impacts in Pre-Primary education. By utilizing the survey results to gain further insights, the researchers can enhance the tool and make it even more effective and aligned with the needs of teachers and students. This feedback-driven approach ensures that the subsequent broader implementation of the teaching tool is based on empirical evidence and tailored to provide maximum support and value to educators in the field.

The KaziBantu project, ‘Healthy Schools for Healthy Communities’, is implemented in primary schools in low resourced settings within South Africa’s poorest province, the Eastern Cape, and stems from a 10-year collaboration between the University of Basel and Nelson Mandela University. The project aims to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyle behaviour in both schoolchildren, through the KaziKidz toolkit, and their teachers, through a workplace health intervention program.

The KaziBantu project was conducted according to the latest
International Conference on Harmonization - Good Clinical Practice
(ICH-GCP) and the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki and its amendments. The KaziBantu study received ethical approval from the following committees: (1) Nelson Mandela University Research Ethics Committee (Human) on 26 March 2018 (H19-HEA-HMS-003); (2) Eastern Cape Department of Health on 5 June 2018 (EC_201804_007); and (3) Eastern Cape Department of Education on 9 May 2018. The study was further registered with the Ethics Committee Northwest and Central Switzerland (EKNZ) on 1 March 2018 (R-2018-00047). The study was also registered at the International Standard Registered Clinical / Social Study Number registry (ISRCTN) under controlled-trials.com on 11 July 2018 (ISRCTN18485542), and with the International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) (DERR1-10.2196/14097).

Our team from the UNESCO Chair 'Physical Activity and Health in Educational Settings' (which is valid until June 2027) is well positioned to deliver the KaziKidz teaching tool and supports international collaboration among various UNESCO Chairs through: (i) Research and teaching unit at the University of Basel (Basel, Switzerland) and the Nelson Mandela University (Gqeberha, South Africa) and other universities in sub-Saharan Africa; (ii) An established agreement between UNESCO and the University of Basel; and (iii) A commitment to go beyond disciplinary boundaries and to relate its work to set specific and global future challenges.

1. How easy or difficult is the process of integrating the KaziKidz teaching material into the existing school routine and daily class activities, and what factors influence the success or challenges faced by teachers during the integration?
2. To what extent can the teaching of the KaziKidz Pre-Primary toolkit improve school-readiness among children, including their cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development?
3. How useful and effective are the explanations and examples provided in the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching material, and what recommendations can be made for improving its instructional quality?

1. Research recommendations prepared by colleagues, which can be used for the preparation of a scientific master's and PhD thesis: This output entails collaboratively generating research recommendations based on the findings and insights gained from the KaziKidz Project. These recommendations can serve as valuable guidance for a colleague pursuing a scientific master's and PhD thesis. The recommendations may include areas for further investigation, specific research questions to address, methodologies to employ, and potential gaps in the current knowledge base that can be explored in the PhD thesis. These recommendations aim to strengthen the evidence base for the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching tool and contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the field of Pre-Primary education.
2. Guidelines on how and under what conditions KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching material is taught in order to achieve the greatest possible success with the schoolchildren. This output focuses on developing practical guidelines for effectively implementing the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching tool in the classroom. The guidelines will be informed by the insights and experiences gained during the KaziKidz, taking into consideration factors such as instructional strategies, classroom management techniques, age appropriateness, and differentiation for diverse learners. These guidelines will provide teachers with clear instructions and recommendations on how to maximize the benefits of the teaching tool, ensuring the greatest possible success for the schoolchildren who will be using it.
3. Development of a larger scientific study with the help of a master's and PhD to strengthen the evidence base for the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching tool. This study will be designed to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching tool in Pre-Primary education. The involvement of a master's and PhD student will contribute to strengthening the evidence base for the tool, as they will conduct in-depth research, implement appropriate methodologies, analyze data, and draw meaningful conclusions. The larger scientific study aims to provide robust empirical evidence on the efficacy of the KaziKidz teaching tool, further establishing its value and impact in Pre-Primary education.

The visions of the UNESCO Chair Team for the future are:

1. Continue and strengthen the link with UNESCO and WHO policy: The researchers  can actively collaborate with UNESCO, particularly in areas related to Physical Education, health promotion, and readiness for learning. This can involve participating in relevant UNESCO initiatives and programs such as 'QPE' (Quality Physical Education), 'Fit for Life', and 'Ready to learn and thrive'. By maintaining a close partnership with UNESCO and existing UNESCO Chairs working on similar topics, the organization can contribute to the global dialogue and policy development in the field of education, health, and well-being.
2. Collect and monitor key medical parameters for scientific analysis. The researchers will continue to collect and monitor key medical parameters related to the health and well-being of children. This data collection can be done at the population level, allowing for scientific analysis and epidemiological research. The researchers can work closely with the public health system to share these epidemiological results, providing valuable insights that can inform potential actions and interventions. By sharing this information, the organization can contribute to evidence-based decision-making and support public health initiatives.
3. Promote the inclusion of KaziBantu - 'Healthy Schools for Healthy Communities'. The researchers can actively promote and advocate for the inclusion of the KaziBantu project, which focuses on creating healthy schools and communities through interdisciplinary collaboration between the Health Sciences Faculty and the Education Faculty at University of Namibia. This project aims to promote the health and well-being of children and teachers, as well as enhance the quality of Physical Education teacher education. The organization can work towards implementing and improving this project by facilitating collaboration between the relevant faculties, promoting awareness and participation among stakeholders, and advocating for resources and support.
4. By aligning its actions with the visions of the UNESCO Chair Team, the organization can contribute to the broader goals of UNESCO and WHO in promoting quality education, health, and well-being. This can involve active engagement in policy discussions, sharing research findings, and implementing initiatives that enhance the physical and mental well-being of children and teachers in schools and communities.

1. Testing of the KaziKidz Pre-Primary: The short-term outcome involved conducting tests and pilot implementations of the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching material in real classroom settings. This includes selecting public schools in Windhoek (Gammans Primary School, Khomasdal Primary School and Oponganda Pre-Primary School) and introducing the teaching material to Pre-Primary educators and students. The testing phase aimed to assess the practicality, effectiveness, and acceptance of the material by gathering feedback from teachers and observing its impact on student learning and engagement.
2. Teacher surveys: Short-term outcomes also involved administering surveys to teachers who have used the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching material. These surveys aim to gather their perceptions, experiences, and suggestions for improvement regarding the integration and effectiveness of the teaching material. The data collected through these surveys provided valuable insights into the teachers' perspectives and help identify areas of success and areas for refinement.
3. (Online) Workshops and meetings: Short-term outcomes include conducting workshops and meetings, which can be held online or in-person, to provide training and support to teachers using the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching material. These workshops and meetings serve as platforms for sharing best practices, addressing challenges, and exchanging ideas. They aim to build a community of practice around the implementation of the teaching material and provide ongoing support and professional development opportunities to educators.
4. The desired long-term outcome is the launch of a master’s and PhD study at the University of Namibia focused on the KaziKidz Pre-Primary teaching material. This outcome involves compiling a research proposal that outlines the scope, objectives, and methodologies of the study. The long-term outcome will be the initiation of the masters and PhD study, which will contribute to strengthening the evidence base for the KaziKidz Pre-Primary solution and furthering research in the field of Pre-Primary education.
5. Overall, the short-term outcomes of testing, surveys, workshops, and meetings aim to gather feedback, refine the teaching material, and support teachers in effectively implementing the KaziKidz Pre-Primary solution. The long-term outcome of launching a masters and PhD study demonstrates the commitment to in-depth research, generating scientific evidence, and advancing the understanding of the impact of the teaching material on Pre-Primary education.