NAEYC

Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning in Preschool

Teacher engaged in dramatic play with a preschooler

You are here

Home / Resources / Books / Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning in Preschool
Iliana Alanís, Toni Denese Sturdivant, Susan Friedman

About the Book 

If you’ve ever wondered how effective teachers actually do DAP, this is the book for you. Here, you can peek into classrooms to see teachers making intentional decisions in the six key areas of practice that form the six guidelines for DAP in action: 
  
  1. Building a community of learners where everyone is welcomed and supported to grow  
  1. Facilitating respectful partnerships with families  
  1. Observing, assessing, and documenting children’s development and learning   
  1. Using teaching strategies that enhance learning for each child  
  1. Implementing curriculum tied to meaningful learning goals  
  1. Demonstrating professionalism 
  
You’ll discover 
  
  • More about what each guideline means for preschool teaching  
  • Chapters that showcase articles from Young Children and Teaching Young Children—plus brand-new content—illustrating excellent teaching strategies related to each guideline  
  • Examples you can model, adapt, and implement in your own practice 
  
Your teaching will be richer and deeper, and children’s learning will flourish! 

Table of Contents

  • About the Editors
  • Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning Book Series
  • Developmentally  Appropriate Practice: An Introduction
  • Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Preschool
  • Part 1: Creating a Caring, Equitable Community of Learners
    • Chapter 1: The Power of “Good Morning” | Sarah Calzone
    • Chapter 2: Every Child Belongs: Welcoming a Child with a Disability | Pamela Brillante
    • Chapter 3: Will You Pass the Peas, Please? | Nikki Waldron
    • Chapter 4: Instead of Discipline, Use Guidance| Dan Gartrell
    • Chapter 5: Preventing Exclusionary Discipline Practices in Early Childhood | Sarah C. Wymer, Amanda P. Williford, and Ann S. Lhospital
  • Part 2: Engaging in Reciprocal Partnerships with Families and Fostering Community Connections
    • Chapter 6: 5 Rs for Promoting Positive Family Engagement | Bweikia Foster Steen
    • Chapter 7: Many Languages, One Community: Engaging All Families | Lorraine Cooke
    • Chapter 8: Integrating Families’ Funds of Knowledge into Daily Teaching Practices | Iliana Alanís and Irasema Salinas-González
    • Chapter 9: Building Relationships: The Key to Engaging Fathers | Lindsey L. Wilson and Holly S. Schindler
    • Chapter 10: Learning with Families About the Contexts of Young Bilingual Children with Disabilities | Cristina Gillanders and Sylvia Y. Sánchez
    • Chapter 11: Promoting Linguistic Diversity and Equity: Teaching in Multilingual Learning Spaces | Carola Oliva-Olson, Linda M. Espinosa, Whit Hayslip, and Elizabeth S. Magruder
  • Part 3: Observing, Documenting, and Assessing Children’s Development and Learning
    • Chapter 12: Practical Approaches to Informal Assessment of STEAM Experiences | Angela Eckhoff and Sandra M. Linder
    • Chapter 13: Anecdotal Records: Practical Strategies for Taking Meaningful Notes | Celeste C. Bates, Stephanie Madison Schenck, and Hayley J. Hoover
    • Chapter 14: Developmental Moments: Teacher Decision Making to Support Young Writers | Kathryn F. Whitmore and Lori Norton-Meier
    • Chapter 15: Authentic and Meaningful Developmental Screening in Early Childhood | Marisa Macy and Stefano J. Bagnato
    • Chapter 16: Learning Stories: A Framework for Authentic Assessment and Critical Pedagogy | Isauro M. Escamilla, Linda R. Kroll, Daniel R. Meier, and Annie White
      • Chapter 16 Appendix: Ellie’s Learning Story: “種植 Planting”
  • Part 4: Teaching to Enhance Each Child’s Development and Learning
    • Chapter 17: The Power of Science: Using Inquiry Thinking to Enhance Learning in a Dual Language Preschool Classroom | Leanne M. Evans
    • Chapter 18: A Guided, Exploration-Based Visual Arts Program for Preschoolers | X. Christine Wang, Keely Benson, Corinne Eggleston, and Bin Lin
    • Chapter 19: Supporting Positive Racial Identity with Literacy-Based Math | Toni Sturdivant
    • Chapter 20: Meaningful Talk: The Importance of Using Sophisticated Language at Preschool | Tracy Weippert Chapter 21: Using Nature Contact to Support Children Under Stress | Becky L. DelVecchio, Susan Ferguson, and Wesley Knapp
    • Chapter 22: Timing Is Everything: Understanding the Importance of Timing, Length, and Sequence of Activities | Monica Lesperance
  • Part 5: Planning and Implementing an Engaging Curriculum to Achieve Meaningful Goals
    • Chapter 23: Never Too Young to Champion a Cause: Supporting Positive Identity Development Through Social Justice Curriculum in Preschool | Veronica Benavides, Roxanne Ledda, and Maimuna Mohammed
    • Chapter 24: Diverse Children, Uniform Standards: Using Early Learning and Development Standards in Multicultural Classrooms | Jeanne L. Reid, Catherine Scott-Little, and Sharon Lynn Kagan
    • Chapter 25: Preschool in the Park: Place-Based Learning in Unexpected Spaces | Rachel J. Franz
    • Chapter 26: Metamorphosis: Life Cycle in a Box | Sara Starbuck
    • Chapter 27: Listen to What We Hear: Developing Community Responsive Listening Centers | Emily Brown Hoffman and Kristin Cipollone
    • Chapter 28: Walk with Us: Indigenous Approaches to Developmentally Appropriate Practice | Trisha L. Moquino, Joshuaa D. Allison-Burbank, Rebecca Blum-Martinez, and Katie Kitchens
  • Part 6: Demonstrating Professionalism as an Early Childhood Educator
  • References
  • Index

Additional Material

Click below for additional material related to select chapters of Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning in Preschool.
 
Children’s books to spark inquiry about the concepts of alike and different.
 
Outlines for six guided exploration sessions developed by the authors to study The Starry Night with children.
 
Additional examples of cultural differences in learning.
 
Tips and examples for using video self-reflection to improve your professional practice.

Book Details

Product Code: 1162
ISBN: 978-1-952331-10-7
Publish Date: 2023
Citation (in Chicago 17th ed. style): 
Alanís, I., & T. Sturdivant, eds. 2023. Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning in Preschool. Washington, DC: NAEYC. 

More DAP Resources

To read the position statement, access related resources, and stay up-to-the-minute on all things DAP, visit NAEYC.org/resources/developmentally-appropriate-practice.

Audience: Student (higher education), Teacher
Age: Preschool
Topics: Child Development, Other Topics, Developmentally Appropriate Practice
Iliana Alanís

Iliana Alanís, PhD, is a professor of early childhood/elementary education at the University of Texas-San Antonio. A native of the Rio Grande Valley, she has been working with and learning from dual language teachers for over 20 years. 

Iliana Alanís
Toni Denese Sturdivant

Toni Denese Sturdivant, PhD, is an early childhood consultant and vice president of early education and workforce development at Camp Fire First Texas. Her work focuses on racial identity development with young children.

Toni Sturdivant
Susan Friedman

Susan Friedman is senior director of publishing and content development at NAEYC. In this role, she leads the content development work of NAEYC’s books and periodicals teams. Ms. Friedman is coeditor of Each and Every Child: Teaching Preschool with an Equity Lens. She has extensive prior experience creating content on play, developmentally appropriate uses of media, and other topics for educators and families. She has presented at numerous educational conferences, including NAEYC’s Professional Learning Institute and Annual Conference, the South by Southwest Education (SXSW EDU) Conference & Festival, and the School Superintendents Association’s Early Learning Cohort. She began her career as a preschool teacher at City and Country School in New York City. She holds degrees from Vassar College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Reviews

For early childhood educators, there are very few concepts as profound and far reaching as DAP. For me, it has long served as a north star and a measuring stick for program quality. But educators are always eager to have more insight into what it really looks like in day-to-day decisions, curriculum experiences, and teaching practices. That’s why I was so excited to read this new book! There is a great need for resources that translate research into practice in accessible ways, and this book does just that. Teachers will see themselves in these pages as they read about the real-life application of DAP through stories told by other teachers doing the same important work, examples that highlight challenges and opportunities, and ideas that spark new thinking. This book is a must-have addition to any early educator library!  
—Rachel Robertson, Vice President, Learning and Development, Bright Horizons Family Solutions
  
Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice brings together a diverse collection of articles to highlight the many ways early childhood teachers can engage with the six guidelines of DAP. Voices from practitioners, researchers, and administrators weave together powerful narratives that expand our understanding of the role of DAP in teaching, curriculum, assessment, and work with families.  
—Denisha Jones, Executive Director, Defending the Early Years, and Guest Faculty, Sarah Lawrence College  
  
This book is a perfect introduction to what it means to work proactively to support young children through an equity-based lens. Children come to learning experiences with their own languages, identities, and approaches to learning. As educators, it is important to embrace these. This book provides tangible supports to assist teachers in doing so.  
—Cecilia Scott-Croff, Executive Director, Early Childhood Center, Borough of Manhattan Community College  
  
The trust that children and their families put in us is enormous. This book ensures each teacher’s success by supporting educators to use their understanding of how each child is developing, model developmentally appropriate expectations, and provide intentionally designed experiences and interactions to create joyful learning environments. Children deserve nothing less. 
—Sherry Cleary, Retired University Dean, City University of New York  
  
The guiding principles and best practices shared throughout the book deepened my understanding of effective teaching in preschool and inspired me to be more intentional in creating a classroom community where everyone is valued, heard, and seen. I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to create a harmonious community using DAP.  
—Ashley Harrell, Accreditation Facilitation Project Coordinator, 4C For Children  
Buy the Print Book Buy the E-book
Cover of Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning in Preschool
Advertisement