A Reflection on Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) has been seen by many as the cornerstone of Early Childhood education since the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) published the guidelines in 1987. The guidelines have been used widely in educare settings such as preschool and schools, with many educators accepting DAP as best practice for educating young children. Whilst DAP has been an highly successful approach for some educators, other alternative approaches to educating young children have recently been identified. Also, many criticisms of the DAP guidelines as they were originally written have been published. Two alternative discourses to Developmentally Appropriate Practice will be considered in this paper. These alternative discourses include an academic approach to early childhood education and the identified cultural bias of Developmentally Appropriate Practice.

NAEYC's Position Statement (1987) suggests that children learn most effectively through a concrete, play oriented approach to early childhood education (p36). A child-oriented, play based program should address the physical, social, emotional and cognitive needs of the children enrolled in the program. This type of program has been recognised by many as best practice in the education of young children. In practice, this may mean that children spend much of their day engaged in active, meaningful play with toys, their peers, craft materials, blocks, paints, adults, outdoor equipment, books and other useful equipment. Play can be seen as beneficial in terms of children's learning as it challenges them to create, collaborate, problem solve, predict, reflect and enhances their ability to communicate (Education Queensland, 2003).

Alternatively, there are educational programs for young children consisting of direct instruction that do not view play as a valid form of learning. These programs focus primarily on academic achievement (Spodek, Saracho, & Davis, 1987, p178). Academic programs may focus on skill and drills, learning of basic isolated facts and completing worksheets. Kessler (1992, p21) suggested that the increasingly academic nature of early childhood programs is due to their inclusion within school campuses. Academic programs are teaching children the concepts and skills that were previously taught in the first year of formal schooling. Play is often used within these programs as a form of relaxation after the children have completed their set work, rather than as valuable and meaningful learning experiences.

Elkind states that children learn best through direct encounters with their world rather than through formal education involving the inculcation of symbolic rules (1986, p1). These symbolic rules may include writing and number systems, which are extensively taught as part of academic programs. The children enrolled in these programs may have little opportunity to construct knowledge or understandings for themselves. Letters and numbers may be taught in rote like fashion, rather than construction of concepts (Kessler, 1992, p29). Teachers within these academic contexts may provide too much highly structured formal education for young children. Teaching methods can be too formal and are generally considered inappropriate for young children (Cotton & Conklin p1). These formal, content-centred teaching methods may involve a lot of seatwork and children will regularly engage in whole class activities. Less time will be devoted to play due to its apparent lack of educational value (Grover, 2001, p1). Play based, child centred programs provide a more open and flexible curriculum which should be more suited to meeting the educational needs of young children.

The type of program that teachers implement, either play based or academic may be impacted by many things including expectations of the school community. Given the context of the learning environment, different approaches to teaching and learning may be expected. My experiences have been impacted by the expectations of the centre and school administration and the parents of the children enrolled in the programs.

During my time as a preschool teacher working in a long day care centre, I was expected to implement a child centred, play based program based on DAP principles. A developmentally appropriate program was expected and encouraged by centre staff, administration and parents. Parents were encouraging of this approach and none requested a more formal, content based approach.

Alternatively I had a very different experience teaching a combined Preschool/ Transition class in a state school within a remote Aboriginal community. The school administration, staff and parents expected that the Early Childhood programs would be content based using formal teaching methods. A play based, developmentally appropriate program was actively resisted by the parents and they believed that the children were wasting their time engaging in play based learning experiences. Eventually I implemented a more formal academic style program, whilst still incorporating as many play based activities as possible. School learning, for this community meant children sitting at desks, completing worksheets, and learning the English writing and number systems. It also involved in whole class learning. Play was seen as a reward for working hard on academic tasks, not as a meaningful and engaging way of learning about the world.


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