Usually considered a pedagogical plan, the term "curriculum" is linked with decisions regarding educational content and often with related instructional strategies. However, a curriculum for young children embodies more than the "what" and the "how" of children's learning experiences in early childhood settings. Based…

Reviews research on young children's transition to kindergarten. Looks at three factors that affect early school adjustment: (1) children's skills and school-related experiences, including social skills, play behavior, and prior experience with peers; (2) parental influences, such as expectations and parent-child interactions; and (3) classroom…

Mainstream education forces an adult-centric agenda onto young children which is developmentally inappropriate and educationally unnecessary. Parents can nourish their children's love of learning by challenging current educational practices and by letting their children play and experience nature. The 3 R's should be replaced with the 3…

This book provides a constructivist interpretation of developmentally appropriate preschool and kindergarten curriculum, incorporating descriptions of how activities are transformed over time and how children's reasoning is transformed, and placing the interpretation in the context of the play-oriented approach advocated by the National…

This book explores how young children, within their cultural imperatives, struggle to discover who they are as cultural "members" interacting with others, as "makers" trying out and creating, and as "interpreters" making meaning and making new connections. Chapters in Part 1 emphasize the significance of a…

Based on the view that young children have a different intellectual culture from adults' in the way they know and understand nature, this paper explores ecological human brain development, children's intellectual culture of naturalist intelligence, and developmentally and culturally congruent curricula for young children. The paper discusses the…

Reviews and critiques past research that investigated the effects of various types of day-care provisions on the development of preschool children. Argues that, in view of the diversity of provisions offered in different countries, simple global generalizations about the effects of out-of-home preschool experiences on later development cannot be…

Examines role of teacher observation in children's free play at classroom computers. Considers Piaget's theory of interaction and Vygotsky's theory of zone of proximal development as groundwork for discussing the benefits of teacher observation to a developmentally appropriate classroom, including promoting confidence, selecting software, working…

This paper maintains that the two basic dimensions of developmentally appropriate practice are age appropriateness and individual appropriateness. For the latter dimension, individuals' patterns of growth, personality, families, and culture are believed to be important. Teachers who use developmentally appropriate practices believe that young…

A study identified and analyzed exemplary and effective programs available in Canada for kindergarten students. The broad-based research team included members from faculties of education, boards of education, early childhood education programs, a research consulting firm, child development researchers, and teacher-practitioners. The study began…

Noting factors that have contributed to an increased emphasis on developmentally responsive middle level schools, this revised monograph examines early adolescence as a developmental period and explores the physical, psychosocial, and cognitive characteristics of 10- to 15-year-olds. In addition, the monograph provides recommendations concerning…

Examines developmentally appropriate versus inappropriate practices in terms of curriculum studies. Discusses problems with the justification of child-centered practices based on developmental theory; philosophical, historical, and political dimensions of a curriculum based on appropriate practices; and an alternative model based on early…

Effective strategies for developing early childhood centers in public schools are discussed in this paper, which draws from a research-based literature search and intensive case studies of six Northwest sites. The sites represent a range of rural, suburban, and urban programs; large and small schools; and a variety of program features. The sites…

Although the United States has seen a record influx of infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children into the foster care system in the past decade, there has not been an accompanying shift in policy or practice to attend to the developmental issues these younger children bring to child welfare. This textbook addresses the spectrum of child…

Reviews research on three issues related to the first edition of the developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) guidelines of the National Association for the Education of Young Children: (1) the prevalence of DAP; (2) teachers and parents beliefs about DAP and influence of beliefs on practice; and (3) how appropriate and inappropriate practice…