After creating developmentally appropriate curricula to satisfy students' needs and encourage genius, educators must design schools according to democratic principles. Educators must make education free and universally accessible, equalize opportunities and resources, abolish family wealth's influence, respect students' diverse abilities and…

In order to help school-age English language learners (ELLs) develop the literacy competencies required for success at school, it is important to recognize and draw on the repertoires of literacy practices that students develop outside school. The concept of multiple literacies provides an analytic heuristic with which to consider the range of…

The use of computers in early years has become a contentious issue, with advocates calling for more Information and Communications Technology (ICT), more machines, better software, and more training for professionals, while other groups call for "a moratorium on the further introduction of computers in early childhood and elementary…

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) program review process increasingly emphasizes the importance of performance-based assessment of early childhood teacher preparation programs. As part of the effort to address performance-based assessment requirements, the teacher educator program described in this study examined…

This study examines the predictive relationships among 309 Asian American and 9471 European American parents' beliefs, expectations, and involvement, and their children's math and reading achievement trajectories during children's transition to school. Data came from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), an ongoing…

In spring 2002, a national sample of more than 800 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) members working in the United States in the care and education of children age three to five responded to the following questions: (1) Are they happy with their work?; (2) Are they satisfied with their pay?; and (3) Are they engaged…

The purpose of this study was to determine if an association existed between student achievement scores and classroom practices used among third-grade teachers in Upper East Tennessee. The variables included classroom environment, instructional context, and social context, employing developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). Teacher…

In 2005, an estimated 48 million children aged 0-18 years--12 percent of all children in sub-Saharan Africa--were orphans, and that number is expected to rise to 53 million by 2010. One quarter of all orphans are orphaned because of AIDS, and about 2.6 million children are currently infected with HIV. Untreated, most children born with HIV will…

We investigated 4 elementary school general education teachers' understandings of the characteristics of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and what academic and behavioral modifications they implemented for these learners. Two major findings emerged: (a) teachers provided few modifications for individuals with ADHD and…

This book presents for discussion principles and issues that encourage early childhood educators to evaluate their current approaches to programming and planning for young chidren with emphasis on the individual child. The book offers the opportunity to affirm the practice of developmentally appropriate procedures and to suggest directions for…

This digest describes the development of the standard middle school and its impact on rural areas, discusses the original goals of middle schooling, and suggests how rural schools can meet these goals despite their small size. The earliest middle schools were innovative rural junior high schools that enriched their programs with additional…

This digest debunks myths about developmentally appropriate programs (DAPs) and discusses essential characteristics of developmentally appropriate practices. Common myths or erroneous assumptions about DAPs assume that: (1) there is only one right way to implement a DAP; (2) DAPs are unstructured, and practitioners offer minimal guidance to the…

Thai parental attitudes about educational practice was explored in this study. Particularly, the situations between Thailand and the United States are compared. Similar to the struggles over developmentally appropriate practice in the United States, many parents in Thailand have resisted implementation of the guidelines articulated by the Thai…

Using a qualitative, phenomenological approach with the researcher as participant observer and interviewer, this study sought to understand how preservice early childhood teachers construct meaning for Developmentally and Culturally Appropriate Practice (DCAP). Subjects were preservice teachers enrolled in an undergraduate course on the clinical…

In preschools caring for infants and toddlers, outdoor play space is often limited and underdeveloped. When outdoor play space is developed, it is usually geared towards older toddlers, and infants' time in this space is often limited. Measures can be taken to give both infants and toddlers access, in safe and appropriate ways, to the valuable…