Early Childhood Curriculum for the 21st Century: Rethinking Developmentally Appropriate Practices

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium draws upon the research of five early childhood scholars to critically respond to the most recent position statement issued by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The five paper presentations each address a particular issue or trend related to contemporary discourses of early childhood curriculum. Members of the panel will utilize curriculum theory, critical studies of culture and childhood, multi-disciplinary perspectives on play, and CRT to critically question the past and present implications of DAP. The presenters will address fundamental curriculum questions, interrogate the relationship between cultural and developmental appropriateness, and consider possibilities for broadening perspectives on play. Then, the presenters will conclude by suggesting practical alternatives to prevailing paradigms of measurement and curriculum problem-solving.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Critical Perspectives on Early Childhood Education

Chair

• Daniel J. Castner, Indiana University

Papers

• The Reconceptualization of Early Childhood Curriculum: Continuing the Conversation - Shirley A. Kessler, Retired

• What Does It Mean to Be Culturally and Developmentally Appropriate? - Marianne N. Bloch, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Multifacetedness of Play: Are We Ready to Embrace? - Myae Han, University of Delaware

• Whose Worldview Is Privileged? Dismantling the Black-White Achievement Gap Paradigm by Focusing on Systemic Change - Iheoma U. Iruka, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill; Nicole Gardner-Neblett, University of Michigan; Marisha L. Humphries, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Developmentally Appropriate Practice Is Curricular Technology: Broadening Curriculum Problem-Solving - Daniel J. Castner, Indiana University