NAEYC and the DAP Position Statement
Many professional organizations advocate for the rights and welfare of young children and their families (see Feature Box 1.2). Among these groups, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), which originally organized in 1926, is the largest, with approximately 60,000 members and 50 affiliate chapters (NAEYC, n.d.). This group’s purpose is to advance knowledge and advocate on behalf of young children, their teachers, and their families.
NAEYC published its first position statement describing and advocating for developmentally appropriate practice in 1986. The overall goal of the DAP statement was to achieve high-quality ethical practice. NAEYC was at that time developing a voluntary accreditation system for early childhood programs and provided the statement in part to differentiate between developmentally appropriate (DAP) and developmentally inappropriate practices (DIP). The following examples of DAP and DIP were provided:
Appropriate (for toddlers): “An adult initiating conversation with a toddler gives the child ample time to respond. Educators listen attentively for children’s verbal initiations and respond to these. Educators label or name objects, describe events, and reflect feelings to help children learn new words.”
Inappropriate (for toddlers): “Educators talk at toddlers and do not wait for a response. Adult voices dominate or educators do not speak to children because they think they are too young to respond. Educators either talk ‘baby talk’ or use language that is too complex for toddlers to understand.” (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997)
The 1986 statement was quickly followed in 1987 with an expanded, comprehensive document covering children from birth to age 8. The subsequent impact of the DAP position statement and its effects on curriculum development cannot be overstated.
The DAP position statement is an organic document, revised regularly to include new information and insights about how young children learn and what they need. Revisions of the original statement were published in 1997 and 2009, after intensive review of new research, consideration of critiques, and solicitation of feedback from its membership in open forums, meetings, and workshops.
The 1997 revision included increased emphasis on children with special needs and cultural diversity. The current (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009) version responded to three challenges: (1) reducing learning gaps and increasing achievement, (2) building stronger relationships between early childhood and elementary education, and (3) emphasizing the importance of teacher knowledge and decision making.