One of the aims of the Threshold Project was to examine the school-based learning experiences of children in lower primary grades in Southern African schools, particularly in relation to the changeover to English as the medium of instruction. Ethnographic observations were conducted in two Primary Education Upgrading Project (PEUP) schools and two other schools. Chapter 1 of the Threshold Project report discusses background information, the project's rationale, research methodology, and theories of culture and education. Chapter 2 compares subject-centered and child-centered instruction and describes current PEUP teaching as an indigenous mixture of the two. Chapter 3 analyzes the PEUP situation in terms of four tasks of teaching: mastery, coverage, management, and the generation of positive affect. Chapter 4 focuses on the lower primary curriculum, including the teaching of Setswana, English, and Afrikaans, and other content subjects. Weaknesses in the teaching of Tswana and English are discussed, as are the management of group work, prevailing physical conditions, and available resources. Chapter 5 focuses on teacher values, the cultural role of the child, the child in the classroom, the significance of child-rearing patterns, an indigenous theory of childhood, the role of questions in adult-child communication, and cognitive development through peer relations. Chapter 6 suggests the further development of the local teaching style and curricular changes. Finally, chapter 7 makes recommendations regarding further research and development. (AC)