This study investigated the extent to which preservice teachers could differentiate developmentally appropriate from inappropriate practices in the education of young children. Responses to 2 teaching scenarios were collected from 158 junior and/or senior early childhood teacher education majors from a university in the mid-South. Results indicated that: (1) 75 percent of students correctly identified sharing personal experiences as a developmentally appropriate practice; (2) almost 75 percent correctly identified the inappropriateness of not permitting children to have recess and the presence of materials that were too difficult or abstract; (3) over half reported that overly structured classroom activities and reading a story in which children were not interested were inappropriate; (4) only 35 percent recognized the inappropriateness of discipline techniques which involved isolating children who were involved in minor misbehaviors; and (5) students exhibited difficulty in identifying children's cleaning up following a snack as an activity appropriate for young children. Faculty are urged to directly confront student misconceptions regarding current versus best practices. (Contains 21 references.) (JDD)