The purpose of this preliminary pilot study is to identify how imaginative teaching methods and low-technology prototyping promote social-emotional (SE) skills development in elementary school students. Particularly, two are the objectives of the study, firstly to test the research designs feasibility and validate the research tools and secondly,…

Since the first release of NAEYC's guidelines, DAP has received a lot of attention from childhood professionals in the United States. Internationally, many countries have also shown a growing interest regarding DAP, yet interest in DAP is new to the Saudi educators. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore preschool teachers' subjective…

The purpose of this study was to examine the transference of an informational brochure elucidating the importance of developmentally appropriate practice, along with assessing the interplay between prior implicit beliefs about educating and raising children and the informational brochure. Participants included 210 college students who completed…

The increasing accountability framework in Kindergarten education has put pressure on teachers to ensure that students reach certain literacy milestones before proceeding to the subsequent grade. One result of this shift is a tension between an emphasis on academic learning and the use of developmentally appropriate practices, such as play.…

Cultivating students' design abilities can be highly beneficial for the learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts, and development of higher-order thinking capabilities (National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council in STEM integration in k-12 education: status, prospects, and an agenda for…

The purpose of this study was to explore whether preschool teachers' self-reported beliefs could predict their self-reported practices about developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). A related purpose was to examine whether classroom size and teachers' experience are significant predictors of their self-reported beliefs and practices. A total…

Against the backdrop of growing international concern for a narrowing view of early literacy, this study was initiated to determine how teachers of four-year-olds view their task of fostering early literacy. This paper reports on the first steps to design and validate an instrument which captures teachers' perceptions of early literacy content…

We investigated direct and indirect effects of component skills on writing (DIEW) using data from 193 children in Grade 1. In this model, working memory was hypothesized to be a foundational cognitive ability for language and cognitive skills as well as transcription skills, which, in turn, contribute to writing. Foundational oral language skills…

We investigated direct and indirect effects of component skills on writing (DIEW) using data from 193 children in Grade 1. In this model, working memory was hypothesized to be a foundational cognitive ability for language and cognitive skills as well as transcription skills, which, in turn, contribute to writing. Foundational oral language skills…

The current study is an examination of early childhood preservice and in-service teachers' beliefs and self-stated practices about social competence instructional strategies, developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), and the relationship between the two. Teachers in this study generally believed that the social competence instructional…

Meta-analyses of the findings from 29 studies including 4,194 early childhood practitioners showed that different practitioner belief appraisals (endorsement, importance, self-efficacy) were related to the intent to use and the adoption and use of different kinds of early childhood practices (developmentally appropriate practices, curricular…

PictoPal is the name of a technology-rich curriculum with a focus on emergent literacy of Dutch kindergarteners. A case study design was used to examine teacher technology integration within PictoPal along with their perceptions about teaching/learning, technology and technology-based innovations. Observations were undertaken on pupils' engagement…

Beliefs are said to affect the pedagogical practice one employs. Considering the potentially important influence of teachers' beliefs on their practices, the level of early childhood teachers' beliefs about developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) and the relationship between their beliefs and practices are regarded as important topics of study…

The present project studied the relationship between the use of developmentally appropriate practices and children's perception of self-competence in Head Start classrooms. Self-competence is defined as children's confidence in succeeding in certain tasks. Developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) as proposed by the National Association for the…

This study examines early childhood preservice teachers' beliefs about developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and how they define DAP and interpret principles and characteristics of DAP. The study shows that early childhood preservice teachers possess relatively strong beliefs about DAP. Preservice teachers who were further along in the…