NAEYC accreditation standards and requirements

Education

NAEYC Accreditation

What is meant by Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) as related to an Early Childhood Program?

The concept of developmentally appropriate practices refers to providing an environment and offering content, materials, activities, and methodologies that are coordinated with a child's level of development and for which the individual child is ready. Three measurements of appropriateness must be thought about: age appropriateness, individual suitability, and correctness for the cultural and social context of the child (Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP), 2002).

Predictable progression of growth and change occur in children up until age nine according to human development research. These alterations occur in all areas of development including: physical, cognitive, social, and emotional. This element is often referred to as the developmental or performance age of a child. It is often found that there is a large range of discrepancy in the developmental ages of children within the same group. These differences occur because of individual growth rates, patterns of development or other individual variations (Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP), 2002).

Each child is there own individual person with unique patterns and growth rates. Along with individual personalities, learning styles, family backgrounds, and past experiences, these individual disparities should be reproduced in adult-child relationships and interactions in an open curriculum. Learning in young children is a result of the active dealings that occurs between the child and the environment, materials, ideas and people in which they come in contact with. Experiences should equal the child's developing and emerging abilities, while at the same time provide some challenge for constant growth and expansion of interests (Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP), 2002).

2. How is DAP Related to the Philosophy of an Early Childhood Program?

The philosophy of most Early Childhood Programs incorporates the understanding that children's play, when skillfully supervised, is an expression of intelligence and growth. The program provides carefully organized and engrossing materials for children. Teachers respond to the driving force of each child's interests and capabilities. Children's individual strengths and interests are identified and then built upon (Program Philosophy, n.d.).

When working with children, an effective teacher begins by thinking about what children of a given age and developmental levels are like. Young children often learn best in certain ways. A child's relationship with nurturing, responsive adults is very important in order for learning to take place. Positive teacher-child relationships help to promote children's social skills, emotional development, and academic learning (Early Childhood Education, n.d.).

Young children are constantly working to figure things out on their own. When a child is attempting to learn what different things are, they must be able to sort out what that things do and do not include. Children often come up with ideas that are very different from those of what adults have come up with. "DAP means teaching young children in ways that: meet children where they are, as individuals and as a group; and help each child reach challenging and achievable goals that contribute to his or her ongoing development and learning" (Early Childhood Education, n.d.). In all learning environments, children learn best when they are actively drawn in. This can be seen in play, exploration, experimentation, and interaction with people and objects. Children are always trying to make sense of whatever experiences that they have. Children who are under the age of seven are often most comfortable in the tangible world that they can experience with their five senses. Children are thought to learn best when they can attach knew knowledge to what they already know (Early Childhood Education, n.d.).

3. What is NAEYC Accreditation? How does the process of NAEYC accreditation help an early child childhood program to reach a certain level of quality?

NAEYC Accreditation of programs for young children represents the mark of quality in early childhood education. NAEYC provides a national, voluntary accreditation system that is used to set qualified standards for early childhood education programs. It also helps families recognize quality education programs. NAEYC Accreditation sets the benchmark for quality in regards to early childhood education programs. "Over 7,000 child care programs, preschools, early learning centers, and other center- or school-based early childhood education programs are currently NAEYC-Accredited. These programs provide high quality care and education to nearly one million young children in the United States" (Accreditation of Programs for Young Children, n.d.).

NAEYC accredited programs work to advance early childhood education because their philosophy is that they benefit both children and their families. Early childhood occurrences are thought to have great impacts on children's lifelong learning. They also positively contribute to their health and development. Early childhood education programs that are of high quality benefit children by providing them greater readiness for and success in school. NAEYC accredited programs help to build stronger teachers, administrators, and families that can all work together to improve the quality of education for children. They help to improve standards for early childhood education overall and they help to attract more families to enroll their children in these programs (Accreditation of Programs for Young Children, n.d.).

This accreditation helps to put into place the basic standards that are believed to be most beneficial to children in their educational needs. Setting these standards allows each program to have goals to work towards in their development and delivery of early childhood programs.

4. How does CA State Licensing, Title 22, Policies and Procedures Influence and support early childhood programs?

California requires most child care centers and family child care homes, to be licensed by the California Department of Social Services under Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations. Preschool programs have evolved and grown in response to the demands of families, research on the benefits of high quality preschool and political will. As they have grown, the requirement and monitoring have developed into a complex web of statutes, regulations and other directives (Bolen, 2008).

The quality of early childhood education programs has a tremendous affect on the lives of children and their families. It has been shown that in terms of cognitive development, social developments, and later success in school, work, and life these programs are very beneficial. Children who participate in high quality early childhood programs are more likely to complete their high school education, less likely to need special education services, less likely to be involved with the criminal justice system, more likely to pursue post-secondary education, and more likely to be employed after schooling than children not engaged in such programs. The quality of early childhood education depends highly on the knowledge and skills of those who teach them. Good programs for children rely on competent staff (Child Development Permit FAQ, n.d.).

California uses Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations in order to monitor and support the non-state subsidized early childhood programs so that they provide high quality education for the children. These regulations can be seen in areas such as staffing ratios, staffing qualifications and program content, all of which are very important in being able to deliver high quality education.

5. How does bringing together DAP, Program Philosophy, NAEYC accreditation and CA State licensing Regulations, Title 22, ensure an environment for children that reaches high quality.