Utilization of emergent literacy skills with a grade one physical education class: A case of selected Primary Schools in Lundazi District of Zambia

This study was undertaken in order to establish the utilization of emergent literacy skills with a grade one Physical Education class in selected primary schools in Lundazi district of Zambia. A qualitative design was used and employed a case study to a sample of 80. Purposive sampling was employed to select 20 teachers for interviews. Random sampling was used to come up with respondents for the focus group discussions which were held with 20 parents and 40 grade 1 pupils. Data was analysed thematically and pie charts with bar charts were produced through Microsoft excel.
Findings revealed that children came with emergent literacy to a PE class such as athletical, rhythmic and manipulative literacy. The study also established different types of knowledge that learners came with to a PE class. These ranged from, social, athletic, accuracy, hygiene, numeracy, critical thinking and rhythmic. This knowledge was realized from the different traditional games and activities which learners enjoyed and played in their communities. Teachers used the different emergent literacy skills and knowledge to introduce different games and activities, to ensure that children related well socially and behaved as expected, applied the traditional rules into their school games and kept hygiene standards in school and community.
It was concluded that teachers in the sampled schools recognized and used the different literacies that learners came within PE lessons. It was further concluded that as a consequence of linking traditional knowledge and PE activities children became socially comfortable, interactive, played as classmates and respected each other in and outside school. One of the recommendations was that teachers should use all the emergent literacy skills that learners came with to school to teach other school subjects. The other one states that Teacher Training Colleges should link traditional games and knowledge to the training of teachers for PE in order to empower them to be effective teachers of PE in schools.