To support efforts for a transformational kindergarten year, the U.S Department of Education (Department) is launching a multistate community of practice: Kindergarten Sturdy Bridge Learning Community. State educational agencies (SEAs)and local educational agencies (LEAs) will have the opportunity to participate in peer learning, receive technical…

Preschool through third grade (P-3) alignment is regularly named as a key aspect of early childhood education and the transition to formal schooling. However, little is known about P-3 alignment in practice. Using data from 265 observations of math instruction in preschool, kindergarten, first-, and third-grade classrooms in New York City public…

Many within early childhood and early childhood teacher education are concerned about the changed kindergarten. At the same time, students entering early childhood teacher education programs were educated in these changed schooling systems that emphasize standards and accountability, which can impact the ways in which they make sense of teaching…

Research indicates that motivation plays a central role in literacy development. Recent investigations have revealed that reading motivation begins to erode as early as second grade. Therefore, it can be suggested that motivation must be carefully considered during early literacy instruction. However, such motivating instruction can be effectively…

Kindergarten has become increasingly academic in nature. One of the primary dilemmas arising from this shift is the tension between the use of developmentally appropriate practices and the obligation to teach academic standards. To gain a deeper understanding of how kindergarten is enacted in the evolving curricular landscape, we look beyond these…

In "Creating Learning Environments in the Early Grades that Support Teacher and Student Success," the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) profiles three expanded-time elementary schools that leverage a longer school day to better serve young students. In particular, the report describes how a longer day opens up opportunities…

The study assessed kindergarten teachers' beliefs, stated practices and actual practices regarding developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) in India. Forty kindergarten teachers from the urban city of Mumbai (India) participated in the study. Overall, the results indicated that teachers' beliefs were more developmentally appropriate than their…

The aim of this study was to examine how teachers in the Step by Step and traditional kindergartens assess their child-centred activities. 308 teachers participated in the study and a questionnaire was used. The results of the study showed that teachers in the Step by Step programme used a child-centred approach more in their work than teachers in…

This study examined the psychometric properties of a revised measurement, the "Teacher Beliefs and Practices Survey" (TBPS), devised for teachers of three- to five-year-old children. This measure was designed to reflect the concepts of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) as presented in the revised 1997 National Association for…

An education agency's early childhood resource developer implemented and evaluated a practicum intervention designed to increase administrators' and teachers' awareness of questionable trends and practices in kindergarten education. Most of the kindergartens in the agency's area had a highly academic, lock-step curriculum; used standardized…

It is suspected that educators have many interpretations of developmentally appropriate practice and, therefore, a wide variety of practices exist in classrooms labeled "developmentally appropriate." This study investigated daily practices of 10 full-day public school kindergarten programs identified as "developmentally appropriate" by teachers or…

A literature review on developmentally appropriate practices in kindergarten and remedies for inappropriate practices was conducted. The review resulted in four sets of annotated references: (1) a total of 18 annotations concerning factors influencing the developmental point of view; (2) a total of 14 annotations dealing with the effects of…

Research suggests that children benefit from preschool programs only when the programs are of high quality. This study sought to ascertain if Texas public prekindergarten teachers and administrators recognized standards for high quality preschool consistent with nationally recognized standards, and to determine if their level of acceptance was…

This report presents the results of a statewide study of kindergarten practices in North Carolina during 1988. The study was initiated due to concern about the developmental appropriateness of kindergartens. A total of 103 randomly selected kindergarten classrooms were observed in an effort to measure the quality of classroom practices. In…

This study investigated perceptions of teaching and learning among Hong Kong kindergarten teachers. Findings indicated that traditional instruction emphasizing planning, preparation, and external judgment, was perceived as an important indicator for good teaching. Teachers tended to focus on their own actions as teachers rather than their pupils'…