DAP ACTIVITIES

DAP Activities in the Social/Emotional Domain That Prove What Researched Based Evidence Works from Birth through Age Eight Years

DAP Activities in the Social/Emotional Domain That Prove What Researched Based Evidence Works from Birth through Age Eight Years

Developmentally appropriate practice as defined in this position statement is not based on what we think might be true or what we want to believe about young children. Developmentally appropri­ate practice is informed by what we know from theory and literature about how children develop and learn. In particular, a review of that literature yields a number of well-supported generalizations, or principles.

No linear listing of principles-including the one below-can do justice to the complexity of the phenomenon that is child development and learn­ing. While the list is comprehensive, it certainly is not all-inclusive. Each principle describes an indi­vidually contributing factor; but just as all domains of development and learning are interrelated, so too do the principles interconnect. For example, the influence of cultural differences and individual differences, each highlighted in a separate princi­ple below, cuts across all the other principles. That is, the implication of any principle often differs as a function of cultural or individual givens.

A complete discussion of the knowledge base that informs developmentally appropriate practice is clearly beyond the scope of this document. Each of the principles rests on a very extensive research base that is only partially referenced here. All the limitations of such a list not withstand­ing, collectively the principles that follow form a solid basis for decision making-for decisions at all levels about how best to meet the needs of young children in general, and for decisions by teachers, programs, and families about the strengths and needs of individual children, with all their variations in prior experiences, abilities and talents, home language and English proficiency, personalities and temperaments, and community and cultural backgrounds.

All the domains of development and learning-physical, social and emotional, and cognitive-are important, and they are closely interrelated. Children's develop­ment and learning in one domain influence and are influenced by what takes place in other domains. Children are thinking, moving, feeling, and interacting human beings. To teach them well involves considering and fostering their develop­ment and learning in all domains. Because this full spectrum of development and learning is fundamental to children's lives and to their future participation as members of society, early care and education must address all the domains.

Further, changes in one domain often facilitate or limit development in other areas. For example, when children begin to crawl or walk, they gain new possibilities for exploring the world, and their mobility affects both their cognitive development and sense of autonomy. Likewise, children's lan­guage development influences their ability to par­ticipate in social interaction with adults and other children; such interactions, in turn, support their further language development. A growing body of work demonstrates the relationship between emotional and social factors and children's aca­demic competence80 and thus the importance of all these areas in educating young ...