The thesis examines the psyscientific observations of child rearing practices in East Africa, focusing on Uganda and Kenya from the interwar period to the early postcolonial era. It situates these observations within broader historical entanglements of science, empire and social change, demonstrating how African children became central figures through which political, social and economic changes were seen and interpreted. Children were simultaneously objects and subjects in the production of knowledge about social transformation, modernisation and cultural change. Drawing on archival research, ethnographic accounts, newspapers, oral histories and cross-cultural studies, the thesis traces the networks, institutions and methods –including photography, film and tests of bodies, minds and personalities – through which children were observed, measured and interpreted. Psyscientists' observations highlighted key themes including motherhood, family structures and their intersections with education, health, nutrition and child development. By identifying these issues as arising amidst social transitions, these observations prompted interventions, creating a recursive relationship between knowledge production, social engagement and scientific intervention often within intimate and closely observed spaces. Ultimately, the thesis demonstrates how psy scientific practices, shaped by disciplinary backgrounds and networks both reflected and influenced understandings of East African children and social change, while these contexts also shaped the adaptation of methods and theories for observing children.
