Early childhood educators in public school settings are influenced by trends and practices in the field of early childhood and elementary education. The paper examines those trends, conflicts between current trends and realities, and the dilemma of early childhood educators in developing quality programs in elementary schools. (SM)

Discusses the effect of children's outdoor play on their learning, the promotion of children's development by their playing of games which they have invented, and suggestions for adults to encourage children to invent outdoor games. (BC)

Presents a view of developmentally appropriate practice that differs from that of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). A program that incorporates this view is described in terms of its theoretical perspectives and classroom practices and compared to the NAEYC description of appropriate and inappropriate practice.…

Provides background information on the development of NAEYC's position statements on developmentally appropriate practice and clarifies assumptions made by Kessler and others about NAEYC's positions. Offers justification for the developmentalist perspective and suggests an alternative argument for appropriate practice that draws on the strengths…

Notes that much of the new instructional software has been disappointing in terms of its appropriateness for young children. Reviews several programs notable for their developmental appropriateness in the areas of creative arts, language arts, thematic approaches, and computer accessibility. (HTH)

Discusses elements for a developmentally appropriate movement program for young children ages 3-5 years old. Emphasizes four major areas from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education guidelines: child development, teaching strategies, content, and assessment. Includes a vignette of an appropriate movement class for 4-year-olds.…

Examines the traditional place of play in contemporary early childhood programs in light of new directions in theory and curriculum, the push for educational outcomes, and perceived pressures of the global market economy. Maintains that a new focus on teaching through play may provide a way to reconcile demand for outcomes with a concern for…

Notes that infant curriculums involve every aspect of child development and should be appropriate for the individual child. Highlights characteristics of ideal curriculums, and provides guidelines for assessment of child and curriculum, and of communication regarding curriculum. (LBT)

Contrasts the use of behavioral and developmental theories to address a child's aggression. Presents concerns about the use of social reinforcers, activity reinforcers, and tangible reinforcers. Asserts that behavioral techniques that shape children's surface behaviors without placing the behaviors within a developmental context may interfere with…

The early childhood curriculum is informed by a complicated array of developmental and learning theories. In recent times these theories have been most readily articulated in approaches to curriculum planning emerging from the Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) guidelines and the project work in Reggio Emilia. Drawing on a common…

This paper discusses the concept of "primal landscapes" as a way of conceptualising the interactions between children and the environments they grow up in. The paper discusses this concept drawing on empirical research conducted in the field of human geography on how people learn about their environments. The research employed a…

Despite the strong association between women educators and young children, a chasm exists between "education feminism" and early childhood education. This paper explores why this chasm exists, and offers ways in which the two fields can be brought together. The relationship of feminism and early childhood education is explored, using…

Early childhood education faces theoretical dilemmas as it reexamines the role of culture in the development of children and struggles to define what "developmentally appropriate" means and for whom. Teachers and other caregivers are working to integrate an anti-bias, multicultural approach into the overall curriculum and everyday…

At Bank Street College of Education, the Children's Book Committee annually reviews approximately 3,000 books to select the 600 or so considered the best books for children published that year. In selecting books, high priority is given to a book's appropriateness to a child's stage of emotional, social, and cognitive development. Since individual…

This response to an article comparing guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice from the fields of early childhood education and early intervention/special education stresses the importance of recognizing the uniqueness of both disciplines and of getting recommended practices into actual practice. (DB)