Because early childhood education settings are often among children’s first communities outside the home, the character of these communities is very influential in children’s development.
NAEYC defines “developmentally appropriate practice” as methods that promote each child’s optimal development and learning through a strengths-based, play-based approach to joyful, engaged learning.
Each and every child, birth through age 8, has the right to equitable learning opportunities—in centers, family child care homes, or schools—that fully support their optimal development and learning across all domains and content areas.
This position statement, one of five foundational documents developed by NAEYC in collaboration with the early childhood profession to advance high-quality early learning for all young children, defines DAP.
Educators who engage in developmentally appropriate practice foster young children’s joyful learning and maximize the opportunities for each and every child to achieve their full potential.
The extent to which educators can fully implement developmentally appropriate practice depends, as efforts to advance equity also do, on decisions at many levels, including program administration, professional development, policy, and more.
Developmentally appropriate practice requires early childhood educators to seek out and gain knowledge and understanding using three core considerations: commonality, individuality, and experiences.
NAEYC’s guidelines and recommendations for developmentally appropriate practice are based on the following nine principles and their implications for early childhood education professional practice.
Throughout the pandemic, I have been reading articles and blogs about families and how they are coping. I decided to survey Black families (a group underrepresented in most of the accounts I read) and find out how they were doing and what they would find
While many of the recommendations have changed considerably over the years, the primary focus of DAP remains the same: NAEYC emphasizes the importance of the relationships between children and well-prepared early childhood educators.
Discover engaging, effective ways to explore real-life, thorny ethical issues with early childhood professionals in the context of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct.
Through our virtual programming for both teachers and parents, our relationship-based approach that is already key to our programming was ramped up to identify, acknowledge, and attend to children’s emotions.
Young children find a goodbye ritual very comforting. Families can make up a love ritual such as a secret handshake and a kiss. Reading books about separation such as The Kissing Hand can also provide comfort to children
When schools abruptly transitioned to distance learning back in March, I found myself communicating with families more regularly than ever before. And it wasn’t long before I learned many parents and family members were struggling with fears, anxiety, los
