Schools in Ghana have integrated reproductive health education (RHE) topics into their curricula and School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinators recognize the importance of RHE. However, for RHE to reach its full potential, it needs to be established as a stand-alone subject. This study highlights the challenges and opportunities in…

Pedagogy is understood as embedded in the relationship between teaching and learning. In a globalising world with cross-cultural educational reforms, how the teaching-learning relationship is understood, recognised and developed is important. Reforms to the Saudi Early Years curriculum are based on the American High/Scope Model and Developmentally…

The article describes Tools of the Mind--an instructional program developed 25 years ago and now implemented in a variety of early childhood settings across the United States and in Canada. Based on the principles of cultural-historical psychology, this program addresses developmental and learning needs of young children by offering a…

Research Findings: The National Association for the Education of Young Children's guidelines for developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) have been imported and researched by others across the globe. A central issue that has arisen for these international early childhood educators is whether these best practices are sensitive to the…

This article examines how international organizations promote play-based pedagogical approaches in early childhood settings around the world, and how local educators respond. As a case study, I investigated Sesame Workshop's efforts to introduce play-based approaches in Nigerian classrooms. In addition to producing a Nigerian version of…

Global concerns about what constitutes an appropriate curriculum and pedagogy for young children inevitably raises questions for teacher educators and the content of teacher education programmes. These concerns have been particularly visible in England following recent policy initiatives and the resultant "academic shovedown" and…

This article focuses on the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY TCM) intervention as an example of an evidence-based program that embeds fidelity and adaptation within its design. First, the core features of the IY TCM program along with the methods, processes, and principles that make the intervention effective are described. The…

The goal of the present study is to explore the use of developmentally appropriate practices in Asian Indian early childhood classrooms. This information is critical for all early childhood educators and teacher educators because the society we live in is fast becoming extremely diverse and our classrooms are becoming a cauldron of various…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the critical attributes of mathematical software designed for children between the ages of four and seven. This study sought to offer guidelines that will assist software designers in the design of developmentally appropriate educational software. In addition, teachers and parents may benefit from this…

Young dancers, girls most particularly, are subject to subtle and not-so-subtle messages of exploitation based on sex. What are the implications for dance educators who are trying hard to advocate for dance and who are trying to encourage appropriate pedagogical practices? Due to the hegemonic pervasiveness of "objectifying" dancers for…

Describes two child care administrators' visit to the model preschools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Discusses the Reggio view of childhood and the structure and environment in a typical Reggio classroom. Notes how the larger cultural elements of Italy--community, history, and pride--are deeply rooted in the Reggio concept. (HTH)

This paper presents Developmentally and Culturally Appropriate Practice (DCAP) as an extension of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) which combines the goals of multicultural and anti-bias education with those of early childhood education (ECE). The paper presents characteristics of multicultural pedagogical strategies, with the root of…

This book compiles abstracts of presentations from a symposium held in honor of Dr. Bernard Spodek, a leading scholar in early childhood education, on the occasion of his retirement. Topics addressed are as follows: (1) culture in early childhood curriculum; (2) developmental and cultural appropriateness; (3) kindergarten in Japan; (4) pressure…

This article explores beliefs of Asian Indian teachers regarding the importance of use of developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood classrooms. A total of 178 Asian Indian early childhood teachers working in various early childhood classrooms in the southern part of India participated in the study. The teachers filled out a…

This paper describes the current debate over developmentally appropriate teaching practice. The paper presents the perspective of multicultural educators, who argue that developmentally appropriate practice is biased toward white, middle-class values, and the perspective of special educators, who argue that modification of developmentally…