"Te Whaariki," the "draft guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in [New Zealand] early childhood services," constitutes a set of principles which can guide practice, rather than a structure for curriculum planning. The guidelines have the potential to provide a theoretical rationale for the application of the…

An informal and minimally organized international early childhood movement has slowly arisen from a combination of intellectual and social antecedents. Several reasons for the emergence of this movement can be cited: recognition of the crucial nature of the early years of life for children's social development and cognitive development; changes in…