Promoting justice and knowledge in our youngest learners (and ourselves) could lead to lasting and deep community engagement, empowerment, and evolution.
Authored by
Authored by:
Veronica Benavides, Roxanne Ledda, Maimuna Mohammed
This Young Children cluster advocates a curriculum that is knowledge-rich, that is authentically connected to children鈥檚 social and cultural contexts, and that promotes positive perceptions of social identities.
Knowledge-Rich Curriculum: Supporting Identity Development & Advancing Equity
The December issue of Young Children includes a cluster of articles with perspectives on enriching curriculum by connecting lessons to children's social and cultural contexts.
Much remains to be learned about how to maximize each child鈥檚 development and learning. Important areas for further research include the following topics.
Policymakers must ensure that those working directly with children in early childhood settings have equitable, affordable access to high-quality professional preparation required to meet DAP standards.
Higher education practitioners must prepare early childhood educators to understand and implement all components of developmentally appropriate practice and provide equitable learning opportunities for all young children.
Fully achieving DAP guidelines and effectively promoting all young children鈥檚 development and learning depends on the establishment of a strong profession with which all early childhood educators, working across all settings, identify.
Developmentally appropriate teaching practices encompass a wide range of skills and strategies that are adapted to the age, development, individual characteristics, and the family and social and cultural contexts of each child served.
Observing, documenting, and assessing each child鈥檚 development and learning are essential processes for educators and programs to plan, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of the experiences they provide to children.
Because early childhood education settings are often among children鈥檚 first communities outside the home, the character of these communities is very influential in children鈥檚 development.
强奸视频 defines 鈥渄evelopmentally appropriate practice鈥� as methods that promote each child鈥檚 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鈥攊n centers, family child care homes, or schools鈥攖hat fully support their optimal development and learning across all domains and content areas.
This position statement, one of five foundational documents developed by 强奸视频 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鈥檚 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.
