Citation

Snider MH, Fu VR. Early Child Res. Q. 1990; 5(1): 69-78.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0885-2006(90)90007-N

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Seventy-three early childhood teachers participated in this study which examined teachers' knowledge of developmentally appropriate practice as related to: education /academic degree; supervised practical experience; content areas covered in child development /early childhood education (CD/ECE) courses taken; and years of employment in child care/education. Knowledge of developmentally appropriate practice was assessed by a measure, based on responses to 12 vignettes, developed for this study. The results indicated that knowledge of appropriate practice is dependent upon academic training in CD/ECE and supervised practical experiences, as well as the number of content areas covered in CD/ECE courses. Length of employment in child care and education situations does not have a significant effect on teachers' knowledge of appropriate practice. Implications for teacher training and public policies are discussed.