Research On Developmentally Appropriate Practice In The United States

Developmentally Appropriate Practice(DAP)was first proposed by the National Association of Early Childhood Education(NAEYC)in the 1980 s,and its core content is to require education to respect and follow the basic laws of children’s physical and mental development.DAP is not a new concept,for from Aristotle in ancient Greece to Comenius,Montessori and Dewey in modern times,the similar idea of "education adapting to nature" was put forward.It can be said that DAP is the development and generalization of the thought of "education adapting to nature" in modern times.Since DAP was first published in 1987,it has been revised and refined every 10 years or so in response to new knowledge and new situational changes as well as criticism from within and outside the field.Over the past 30 years,the connotation of DAP has been continuously enriched and gradually improved,from the initial two dimensions of ageappropriate and individual-appropriate to the second edition in 1997 and the third edition in 2009 defining the connotation of DAP as three dimensions of age-appropriate,individual-appropriate as well as society-and culture-appropriate.The fourth version of DAP in 2022 makes innovations on the basis of adhering to the original definition of the connotation,emphasizing the value of high-quality and fair early education,and paying attention to the differences in the development of children in the context of multiculturalism.In the fourth edition,DAP is described as a way,which attaches importance to the development of children’s advantages and potential and takes games as the basic form to make children participate,develop and learn happily,to stimulate the best development and learning of each child.In this paper,starting from the historical context of DAP’s development,the first edition of 1987,the second edition of 1997,the third edition of 2009 and the fourth edition of 2022 are respectively interpreted from the social context,basic content and its influences.On this basis,the vertical analysis of these four editions are made.It is found that with the development of economy and the progress of science and technology,the connotation of DAP is constantly enriched,and the principles of children’s development and learning are constantly improved.The NAEYC is both persistent and developmental,which are embodied in: persisting in child-centered values;adhering to the distinct theory of constructivism and the development of coherence;reflecting a more diversified theoretical basis and a greater emphasis on the "non-universal" development of children.Children are indeed natural learners,but their true learning and optimal development depends on quality care and education.Children’s development and learning are dynamic and continuous processes,as well as biological and cultural processes,in which each individual is involved and active in complex developmental,cognitive,physical,social and cultural systems.Only through careful effort and constant reflection can the three aspects of age appropriateness,individual appropriateness,and social and cultural appropriateness be integrated into a closely linked system.By means of the content analysis method,the text content of the fourth edition of DAP in 2022 was quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed.The first part of the fourth edition of developmental appropriateness education highlighted the following characteristics: the developmental characteristics of the concept of appropriateness education,the emphasis on the integration of knowledge and action in the practice of teaching and learning,and the deep and lasting influence of the cultural context on the development of children;The second part emphasizes that children’s development and learning is the dialectical unity of universality and particularity,and "relationship" determines the development,learning and understanding of children with social existence,and uses "inclusive" thinking.NAEYC again emphasizes that "there is no one educational practice that fits all children," and that even "age appropriate" is not universal across cultures.In educational practice,early educators should not only pay attention to the different social circumstances and cultural differences of different children,but also reflect on how the cultural circumstances of educators who are also members of the society produce or appear or recessive influence on educational practice.Based on the vertical analysis of DAP’s development and the horizontal interpretation of the educational practice,this paper summarizes the enlightenment and reference of developmentally appropriate practice to our development of preschool education.First of all,teachers,parents and society should treat and serve children from the perspective of development.Secondly,the development trend of early education in the future is to pursue high quality and fairness,and the universal and inclusive development of preschool education needs to be further improved for us.Finally,the early education profession is a kind of specialized profession which requires high ability,so we should face up to and attach importance to the value of early education workers.