Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Curriculum and Development in Early Education

Thoughtful and comprehensive, DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE: CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY EDUCATION, International Edition, is designed to meet the needs of new early childhood students as well as experienced teachers, professionals, and parents. It provides an overview of the concepts and theoretical foundations of developmental practices and discusses the practical implications for teachers and caregivers. This edition, thoroughly revised to reflect the new NAEYC position statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice, also includes new content on aligning early childhood teaching practices with national education standards, in addition to many new student-oriented features and applications. Section I explores developmentally appropriate practice, including an in-depth section on the theory and research of play as well as discussion of early learning standards in curriculum development. Students also learn how well-known curriculum approaches fit into the principles of developmentally appropriate practice. Subsequent comprehensive sections, which discuss the physical, social/emotional, and cognitive/language domains, individually address appropriate practice for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and primary-aged children. Section V, available on the text website, discusses how teachers can make changes that result in more developmentally appropriate practices and how to gain support for those changes with families and communities.

Table of Contents:
Section I: DEFINING DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE. Defining Developmentally Appropriate Practice. Understanding Play: Its Importance in Developmentally Appropriate Practice. Planning for Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum. A Consideration of Various Curriculum Models. Section II: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS. For Infants. For Toddlers. For Preschoolers. For Primary-Aged Children. Section III: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ENVIRONMENTS. For Infants. For Toddlers. For Preschoolers. For Primary-Aged Children. Section IV: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE COGNITIVE/LANGUAGE/LITERACY ENVIRONMENTS. For Infants. For Toddlers. For Preschoolers. For Primary Aged. Section V: STEPS TOWARDS MORE DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE (ONLINE). Helping Teachers Change To More Appropriate Practice. Helping Families and Communities Understand Developmentally Appropriate Practice.