Developmentally Appropriate Programs

The phrase DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE is currently used to describe a great many early childhood education practices. This term is sometimes used to justify such incompatible notions as readiness programs that structure children's learning within narrowly defined parameters and programs that advocate giving children the gift of time by providing little or no structure. It may be used to rationalize grouping children by ability or by almost any criteria OTHER than ability. These inconsistencies have led to much confusion about what developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) or programs entail (Walsh, 1991).

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Early Childhood Programs for Language Minority Students

Parents are the primary teachers of young children. Bowman (1989) points out that "children are taught to act, believe and feel in ways that are consistent with the mores of their communities" (p.119). To promote the healthy self-esteem of each and every young child, early childhood education programs must be thoughtfully designed to serve both parents and children--all the more so for those who speak a language other than English at home.

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Multiple Perspectives on the Quality of Early Childhood Programs

The quality of early childhood programs can be assessed in many ways. Most of the literature on the subject examines quality by identifying selected characteristics of the setting, equipment, and program as seen by adults. Such an approach can be called ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY FROM A TOP-DOWN PERSPECTIVE. Another way to assess the quality of a program is to take what we might call A BOTTOM-UP PERSPECTIVE by attempting to determine how the program is experienced by the children. A third strategy, which we could call AN OUTSIDE-INSIDE PERSPECTIVE, is to assess how the program is experienced by the families it serves. A fourth perspective is one from the inside, which considers how the program is experienced by the staff responsible for it.

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Problem Solving in Early Childhood Classrooms

Problem solving is the foundation of a young child's learning. It must be valued, promoted, provided for, and sustained in the early childhood classroom. Opportunities for problem solving occur in the everyday context of a child's life. By observing the child closely, teachers can use the child's social, cognitive, movement, and emotional experiences to facilitate problem solving and promote strategies useful in the lifelong process of learning.

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Beyond Transition: Ensuring Continuity in Early Childhood Services

In the early childhood field, the word TRANSITION is used in many different ways. Traditionally, TRANSITION has been used to describe the period of time that falls between two different types of activities. TRANSITION may also be used to describe the time period in which children move from home to school, from school to after-school activities, from one activity to another within a preschool, or from preschool to kindergarten. In each case, early childhood professionals have been concerned with easing the transition between two different types of activities or environments.

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Understanding and Facilitating Preschool Children's Peer Acceptance

Children's understanding of emotional expressions and situations has been found to relate to how well peers like or dislike them. A study at George Mason University suggests that well-liked children are better able than other children to read and respond to peers' emotions. Disliked children may misinterpret peers' emotions, leading to difficult interactions and eventual rejection by peers.

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Montessori Programs in Public Schools

Maria Montessori founded the first Montessori school in Rome in 1907. It served 4- to 7-year-olds from low-income families in a full-day program. Montessori schools grew in number in Europe and India, and there was a great deal of U.S. interest in Montessori's methods from 1910 to 1920. After this time, Montessori methods were all but forgotten in the U.S. until the late 1950s. Then, a second Montessori movement began in the U.S., with a set of private schools serving an almost entirely middle-class population. A teacher shortage resulted in the opening of private Montessori teacher training centers that were typically free-standing, that is, not associated with a college or university. In the late 1960s, parents in several school districts began to agitate for public schools to offer the Montessori model for their elementary school children who had graduated from private Montessori preschools. This push was given a boost by the availability of federal funds for magnet programs. Today, more than 100 U.S. school districts have some type of Montessori program (Kahn, 1991).

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The Portfolio and Its Use: Developmentally Appropriate Assessment of Young Children

The subject of children's achievement and performance in school, and even before school, has received increasing public attention during the latter 1980s and early 1990s. A general consensus for assessment reform is reflected by the volume and variety of professional literature on various methods of assessment and the number of states that are seeking alternative means to evaluate students.

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Implementing an Anti-Bias Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms

Children are aware of differences in color, language, gender, and physical ability at a very young age. Numerous research studies about the process of identity and attitude development conclude that children learn by observing the differences and similarities among people and by absorbing the spoken and unspoken messages about those differences. The biases and negative stereotypes about various aspects of human diversity prevalent in our society undercut all children's healthy development and ill-equip them to interact effectively with many people in the world. Consequently, anti-bias curriculum seeks to nurture the development of every child's fullest potential by actively addressing issues of diversity and equity in the classroom.

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What Early Childhood Teachers Need To Know about Language

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