May 2021

How are you doing in general?

I am doing great! I’m keeping busy at University working with the rugby and cricket players and discovering new ways of doing research.

What were your key learnings and achievements in the last month?

I finally got approved for my master’s proposal and learnt that thia phase can be very stressful. Luckily I can now continue with the next phase. I learnt how to set up academic debriefs for the university rugby and cricket players of UWC.

How is the situation with Covid developing in South Africa / Cape Town in general?

We are currently in “Wave 3” and have moved back to COVID-19 alert level 2 due to South Africa’s COVID-19 numbers increasing. This level doesn’t have a lot of restriction besides an earlier curfew and less people at functions.

How is it affecting university life, did anything change?

Nothing has changed at university; everything is still the same as beginning of the year. I think classes will continue online during the whole academic year due to COVID-19 cases increasing.

How is your thesis coming along? What are you currently working on?

We had a shaky start with getting my masters proposal accepted, but after a few weeks we finally got approval and I can now start with the next phase of my thesis.  

Can you tell us the subject of your thesis and what topics it will include?

The title of my thesis:

The association of socio-economic status and gross motor skills of grade 4 learners in the Western Cape, South Africa.

More details on my topic and what the thesis will look like:

This study aims to assess the possible relationship between the socio-economic status and the gross motor skills of grade 4 learners in Eerste River, Western Cape, South Africa. My hypothesis is that learners coming from low socio-economic communities will have poorly developed gross motor skills, and that there will be a high correlation between socio-economic status and gross motor development of the participants. I also assume that boys and girls will display different levels of gross motor skill levels.

The research will employ a descriptive and correlational design as it seeks to describe the current socio-economic status and gross motor development status of the children. The data will be conducted two Primary Schools in the Eerste River area. The sample will consist of 60 randomly selected boys and girls.

What does your free time look like at the moment?

Currently I have a lot of “free time” from my own academics until we fully start with the next phase of my research. I have been busy with the academic support program.