An imaginary interview with Maria Montessori elaborates on three requirements for an effective elementary school. The effective school should match the development and needs of children; be created as a total learning community; and offer an atmosphere and a curriculum that foster children's innate sense of wonder and connection to the natural…

Describes a kindergarten classroom project that promoted student choice and decision making by providing time for the students to pursue their own interests. This student-directed project that included cooperative learning, parent involvement, and upper-grade students as assistants gave kindergartners the opportunity for independent and…

Discusses the importance of social skills in young children, and the need for "naturalistic" procedures rather than teacher direction to intervene in social development of children with disabilities. Presents strategies for supporting social behaviors in preschoolers that foster social skills development in areas including large- and…

Examines the question of whether to make computers a part of the early childhood curriculum. Discusses the contribution of computers to children's development, focusing on the role of computers and related technology in benefiting children with disabilities and facilitating inclusion. Discusses ways of adapting technology to make it…

Reflects on the process of developing national curriculum guidelines for early childhood based on New Zealand's experience. Discusses how development involved complex interactions between the nature of early childhood in New Zealand and its history (setting), the opinions, ideas, and practice of current practitioners (consultation), and decisions…

Six brief articles by elementary school teachers in Foxfire's East Tennessee Teachers' Network focus on applying Foxfire core practices in a developmentally appropriate manner in grades K-3, and describe kindergarten journals, student decision making, and projects involving local history and garbage recycling. (SV)

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)

Discusses issues associated with continuity of care--the practice of keeping the same primary caregiver with infants and toddlers for two or three years. Outlines six advantages of continuity of care for children, parents, and caregivers. Answers several objections to the practice and describes some variations. (TJQ)

To examine beliefs and practices regarding developmentally appropriate practices in early education, administrators, teachers, and parents from four countries completed surveys based on National Association for the Education of Young Children standards. Results illustrate the countries' different views and highlight the need for more parent…

Discusses nine common myths, which represent collective opinions based on false assumptions or are the product of fallacious reasoning, associated with developmentally appropriate programs for young children. (BB)

Results indicated significantly more stress behaviors in children in developmentally inappropriate classes than in children in appropriate classes. Stress behaviors differed according to activity. Males exhibited slightly more stress behavior than females. (BC)

Recently, numerous larger schools have tried to capture the potential advantages of a wide age range in their classrooms. The nongraded organizational system recognizes and plans for varied student abilities, provides for different rates of progress, and adjusts to individual emotional and social needs. Both advantages and disadvantages are…

Principals can become more effective supervisors of early childhood programs by understanding how these programs differ from those for upper elementary grades. There are at least seven critical differences involving classroom environment, teacher-student interactions, curriculum, integrated learning, class scheduling, playful learning, and…

As part of a continuing dialog, this response to Johnson and McChesney Johnson (1992) focuses on the many areas of overlap between principles of Developmentally Appropriate Practice and current early childhood special education principles of early intervention. (Author/DB)

As part of a continuing dialog, this response to Carta et al. (EC 607 082) raises questions about the comparability of early childhood special education and Developmentally Appropriate Practice principles and examines philosophical differences over the meaning of integration of curriculum and assessment and the importance of active engagement. (DB)