Discusses some of the ethical concerns that early childhood professionals should consider when identifying or adapting assistive technologies for young children with such disabilities as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, visual impairments, and hearing impairments. (BB)

Advocates the implementation of the same developmentally appropriate principles and practices that govern good preschool programs in elementary school programs as well. These practices involve understanding children and their levels of development, working with the whole child, fostering integrated learning, and encouraging parent participation.…

Examines developmentally appropriate versus inappropriate practices in terms of curriculum studies. Discusses problems with the justification of child-centered practices based on developmental theory; philosophical, historical, and political dimensions of a curriculum based on appropriate practices; and an alternative model based on early…

School-based occupational therapy is the largest employer of occupational therapists. School-based occupational therapists work extensively with students with severe disabilities. Over the past decade, one significant change in the field of severe disabilities has been the advocacy of best practices. This paper discusses the implications of best…

Technology can facilitate a pedagogy-based on neo-Vygotskian sociocultural theory, and on developmentally appropriate instruction. This article reviews the basic principles of such a pedagogy, and then presents a detailed case study of one day's instruction in a preschool classroom, that is richly infused with a system employing digital…

This report describes the final status of classroom practice in Texas prekindergarten programs in comparison to initial study findings and findings from a self-study component implemented in 1993 with prekindergarten staffs participating in the study. Findings from the longitudinal component indicated positive trends in academic performance for…

With a view to understanding developmental education, this project studied 100 college students at Champlain-Saint Lawrence College (Quebec) to measure their motivations and perceptions of ability and to see how different types of students responded to assistance. Students with a learning orientation (LO), who viewed ability as derived principally…

This paper outlines a range of ways that technology education can be incorporated into existing curricula without compromising those programs, the technological skills and knowledge advocated in the 1994 technology statement of the Curriculum Corporation of Australia, or the children and teachers themselves. A case study of a year-two teacher is…

The goals of this curriculum resource guide are to: (1) explore subject integration at the primary level through the reflective experiences of educators; (2) provide visual and verbal activities that enhance student learning; (3) provide a forum for educators to present their instructional experiences through the theme across the curriculum…

A goal of the St. Paul (Minnesota) Head Start/Public School Early Childhood Transition Demonstration Project is to promote the implementation of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms through teacher training and the provision of related materials. This project is 1 of 31 sites participating in a…

This guidebook integrates basic strategies for developing a multiage-classroom design. The book begins by describing developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), which is based on a curriculum and an instructional-delivery methodology that address the physical, social, intellectual, emotional, and aesthetic needs of young students. Students are…

In a study of the attitudes of early childhood professionals, 63 preschool teachers of children ages 3 through 5 and 20 preschool center directors in Naperville, Illinois were surveyed. Statements in the survey were developed using the guidelines from the National Association for the Education of Young Children concerning developmentally…

An effort was made to expand parents' comprehension of developmentally appropriate programs through increased understanding of teacher observation in the early childhood classroom and teacher anecdotal reporting in family conferences. Corollary aims were to increase knowledge of children's learning styles to enable better school choices, and to…

A study evaluated the Early Childhood Resources Teacher Training Project (TTP). The purpose of the TTP is to train preschool and early primary grade teachers in developmentally appropriate practices. The evaluation sought to: (1) determine the extent to which teachers undergoing training were able to understand and implement the content of the…

This technical assistance paper focuses on enhancing teachers' ability to match their expectations with children's existing or emerging capabilities and to facilitate children's development of inner control. Encouraging teachers to adopt a humanistic approach, which promotes opportunities for children to learn and become self-directed, is…