The number of preterm births is increasing globally and in England, yet professional knowledge about the short- and long-term developmental consequences and the psycho-social effect on parents is limited amongst the early years workforce. Using a social-ecological systems theory approach, this paper reports on a mixed-methods study that aimed to…

Many early childhood educators encounter children who exhibit sexual behavior and are not sure how to respond. Although they have had training in childhood development, sexual development is rarely given the attention it deserves. At the same time, early childhood education personnel often get training in child abuse and in their responsibilities…

Early childhood education (ECE) has always been intertwined with the use of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). To support excellence in ECE, it is critical how the knowledge about individual children and child development principles combined with the knowledge of effective early learning practices. Effective early childhood education…

Although developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) has strong merits, there are considerations pertaining to its development and implementation which must be raised. In order for educators to include diverse voices of young children, the time has come for a new conversation to unfold introducing developmentally universal practice (DUP). With this…

Recognizing the growth of technology use in early learning settings, the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collaborated in the development of the "Early Learning and Educational Technology Policy Brief" to promote developmentally appropriate use of technology in homes and early learning…

This study examined Early Childhood Special Educators' perceptions of play as a developmentally appropriate practice in special education prekindergarten classrooms in one southeastern school district. Through purposeful sampling, eight prekindergarten special educators were identified because they held multiple teaching certifications and some…

With the increasing frequency of young children with disabilities being included in early childhood classrooms, there is a critical need for early childhood educators and professionals to take an analytical look at the standards guiding early childhood education. By completing a qualitative document analysis of the developmentally appropriate…

Young Children and the Arts: Nurturing Imagination and Creativity examines the place of the arts in the experiences of young and very young children at home and in out-of-home settings at school and in the community. There is great need for development of resources in the arts specifically designed to introduce babies and toddlers to participatory…

Math and science and the related technology and engineering are natural pairings. These four disciplines form the acronym STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and can be readily combined into an integrated curriculum for early childhood classrooms. Many educators believe that children learn best when disciplines are interconnected. An…

Young children with disabilities acquire behavior problems as a result of many factors. When planning interventions, it is important to remember that all children may display stages of inappropriate behaviors at various times during their early development. In most cases, the problems are short-lived and typically improve with guidance and age.…

The provision of choice making is frequently cited as an indicator of developmentally appropriate practice for young children with and without disabilities; however, there is little empirical evidence regarding the rate of delivery of choices within the preschool classroom. The delivery of intervention strategies by a classroom-based…

Performance-based assessments require teacher candidates to demonstrate proficiency on specific teaching tasks and apply knowledge in authentic settings. This article describes the development and use of performance-based assessments (PBAs) for advancing the learning and evaluation of teacher candidates in an early childhood special education…

Examined the relationship between primary teachers' implementation of developmentally appropriate and traditional teaching methods and the mathematics achievement of general and special education students. Found that mathematics achievement was associated with a reported measure of instruction that emphasized mathematical processing and strategy…

This paper has been developed by the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children to serve as a companion document to the 2003 joint position statement "Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment and Program Evaluation-Building and Effective, Accountable System in Progams for Children Birth through Age 8" of National…

This article provides strategies that early childhood special educators can use to incorporate the learning of specific skills into a variety of developmentally appropriate play activities for children with disabilities. The development of individualized education programs that incorporate play as a framework for intervention is discussed. (CR)