This paper reports on an ongoing research programme designed to investigate the opportunities for, and barriers to, pre-service teachers' growth as practitioners of developmentally appropriate practice for children aged 5-11. The analysis is framed by a Vygotskian cultural-historical perspective and points to personal, cultural and structural factors as potential constraints immanent in the various configurations produced by the pre-service teacher-environment interface. The paper concludes by confirming Vygotsky's contention that development possibilities lie immanent in the contradictions produced by these specific configurations of constraints and affordances. Potential implications for teacher education programmes are also discussed, including the possibilities for facilitating the growth of critical teacher-researcher identities in what is currently a contested education landscape.