What is Developmentally Appropriate Practice and Why Is It So Important?

Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood education is a set of guiding principles for practitioners who work in early learning and care environments. It is based on years of research into human brain development, including cognitive, executive function, social-emotional, and critical thinking skills. The definition has expanded with new research into how learning and growth are affected by social and cultural contexts.?

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is considered the preeminent resource for early educators, with a membership of nearly 60,000 early educators. The first edition of NAEYC’s Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs was published in 1987.?

“Best practices” was a term used early on, and was defined by the dominant culture at the time. The latest edition, published in November of 2021, eliminated the term “best practices” as an attempt to counter bias based on cultural assumptions and limited experience with a variety of populations.

Are we making assumptions based upon our own experience?

Interactions with and between children in the early childhood environment can be complex due to the diversity of families,? the children’s skills, abilities, and languages, as well as cultural and social community norms. Working in an early childhood environment means we are tasked with on-the-spot decision-making involving a plethora of inputs, sometimes at rapid speed. We must put aside our own cultural and social assumptions to consider those of our young charges.?

This is not easy!

Let’s Lay the Groundwork

Building bonds with children using sensitivity and responsiveness and forming positive relationships that foster trust and mutual affection is an essential component of developmentally appropriate practice. Appreciating the differences in each child and their families, along with the particular advantages or challenges these differences present, offers the educator greater opportunity for meaningful connection.

A knowledge and understanding of the milestones and sequences of child development as well as the individual child’s abilities and needs, including their cultural and social environment, helps us, as educators, provide meaningful experiences.??

Individualized activities are based on a child’s age and stage of development. When we understand the general stages of learning, we are able to apply developmentally appropriate practices on an individual basis.?

We Can Use Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors

Educators can use the mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors analogy first coined by? Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop , at The Ohio State University, to open children to new peoples, families, experiences, and ideas. Books, toys, pictures, posters, musical instruments, textiles, and other representations of cultures from around the world can be sliding glass doors into new worlds.

We can create multicultural classroom environments that are reflective of many different types of families and backgrounds so that children may see themselves—as well as others—in the mirror.

Effective early childhood educators have insight as to where children in their care lie in their particular phase of growth and create thoughtful plans to meet them at their level of development. Taking in their unique individual qualities and life background helps provide the “just right” challenges to help them grow.?

Consistency and predictability establish connection and trust

As far as possible, surround children with environments that are safe, visually attractive, and child-size to form roots upon which children can depend.?

Daily routines and regular rituals provide a solid foundation and a sense of safety. Modeling reading and writing behavior, using active listening and providing children opportunities for doing help them develop a sense of accomplishment and positive self-image.

Within these predictable, safe, relationship-based environments, educators can provide a multitude of ways to connect and ensure children receive a strong foundation in early literacy skills.?

Let’s Get Specific

Examples include:

• Singing songs to ease transitions to mealtimes, indoor/outdoor environment shifts, bathroom time, etc.
• Daily reading, including a wide variety of stories reflecting multiple cultures and backgrounds.
• Poetry where phonemic patterns like rhyme and alliteration are central.
• Responsive conversations with time for deep listening and reflection.?
• Finger plays and games that involve both small and large muscle movement.
• Dramatic play scenarios such as going to the grocery store where children can create lists and prices.

What Next?

As science and research evolve, professional learning is crucial to support early childhood educators in incorporating new understanding into their knowledge base. Early childhood educators have a special responsibility to remain current in their field and incorporate the latest research into their knowledge base.?

Participation in professional learning programs that reflect new understandings of brain development and its effect on social, emotional, and linguistic development can help early childhood educators with ways to develop bonds with children while simultaneously providing a supportive community familiar with the myriad challenges endemic within the profession.

Collaborative Classroom offers SEEDS of Learning? , a professional learning framework for adults who care for and teach children ages three-to-five. SEEDS empowers adults with the knowledge to develop oral language, emergent literacy, and social and emotional skills, setting them up for success in kindergarten and beyond.

Learn more through your local representative:

https://www.collaborativeclassroom.org/about/find-my-local-representative/