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With a heavy increase in academic expectations and standards to be learned in the early years, educators are facing the challenge of integrating important academic standards into developmentally appropriate learning experiences for children in kindergarten. To meet this challenge, there is a need to become familiar with the role of play in the classroom with an emphasis on developmentally appropriate practices such as play-based learning (PBL). PBL is child-centered and focuses on children’s academic, social, and emotional development, and their interests and abilities through engaging and developmentally appropriate learning experiences. This paper explores the definition of play-based learning (PBL), the theoretical frameworks and historical research that have shaped PBL, the different types of play, the social and academic benefits of PBL, and the ways in which educators can facilitate, support, assess, and employ technology to enhance PBL. The authors will conclude by reflecting on how teaching practices can be informed by evidence-based research to improve children’s learning experiences in the kindergarten classroom.

In this article, I examine children’s evolved learning mechanisms that make humans the most educable of animals. These include (1) skeletal perceptual and cognitive mechanisms that get fleshed out over the course of development, mainly through play; (2) a high level of plasticity that is greatest early in life but that persists into adulthood; (3) remarkable social-learning capabilities; and (4) dispositions toward exploration and play. I next examine some evolutionary mismatches—conflicts between psychological mechanisms evolved in ancient environments and their utility in modern ones—specifically with respect to modern educational systems. I then suggest some ways educators can take advantage of children’s evolved learning abilities to minimize the effects of evolutionary mismatches, including (1) following developmentally appropriate practices (which are also evolutionarily appropriate practices), (2) increasing opportunities for physical activities, (3) increasing opportunities to learn through play, and (4) taking advantage of stress-adapted children’s “hidden talents.” I argue that evolutionary theory informs teachers and parents about how children evolved to learn and can result in more-enlightened teaching methods that will result in a more enjoyable and successful learning experiences for children.

Many K-12 computer science (CS) education initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels have recently started to focus on engaging the young children. Although most CS education research has focused on the secondary level, only minimal research has explored how computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) can be taught in elementary and especially at kindergarten. Understanding how CS and CT are taught at the youngest levels is critical to support the creation of progressive quality curricula and professional development. Therefore, in this study, we delved into the CT/CS curriculum design considerations of five teachers for kindergarteners. Our findings revealed that the primary learning objectives encompassed: 1) Social skill acquisition, 2) Fostering a growth mindset, and 3) Developing basic CT competencies. Moreover, when crafting their CT/CS curriculum, teachers weighed factors such as 1) Their approach to adapting the CT/CS curriculum—whether it be a personalized approach or relying on a pre-packaged curriculum—and 2) Adhering to Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP), which took into account individual abilities, interests, and socially relevant contexts. We conclude by discussing the ramifications of these findings in terms of professional development and the shaping of future CT/CS curricula for young learners.

Active engagement in music has numerous academic and social benefits for young children and music-making is included in many early childhood standards and preschool curricula. The purpose of this article is to provide quality resources for classroom teachers to use in providing music-making activities for young children, ages 3–5. Although teachers may use music in their classrooms, we provide resources and suggestions for more intentional and extended integration of music-making. Specifically, we identify best practices for preschool music education based on key standards and research as well as with common music pedagogies. We then turn to concrete examples of how teachers can implement these music best practices throughout the entire preschool day. We provide ideas and resources for whole-group activities, focusing on choice-time/center activities and ways to incorporate music activities in other academic areas as these seem to be of greater need for teachers. Finally, we use the stated best practices to review the alignment of a sample of commercially available preschool music curricula as an additional support for teachers.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children recently revised its Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP), the standard for early childhood care and education. Josh Thompson and Zlata Stanković-Ramirez explore how DAP has evolved over time and what guidance it provides early childhood educators regarding the interaction between typical waves of child development, children’s individual characteristics, and social and cultural context.

A developmentally appropriate learning environment provides learning experiences that support whole child development as young children are provided with opportunities to engage in meaningful experiences that promote inquiry, exploration, problem solving, and discovery. The intent of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) is shifting the K-12 pushdown curriculum in early childhood education (ECE) to a child-centered approach to learning. Qualification in fields unrelated to ECE might result in a lack of knowledge about child growth and development and in childcare centers functioning like K-12 programs. The purpose of this qualitative explanatory multi-case study was to examine toddler and preschool teachers' beliefs and perceptions about the use of DAP within toddler and preschool classrooms. Data were collected from a purposeful sample of 16 teachers on their beliefs and perceptions about classroom practices and the forces that shape such practices in toddler and preschool classrooms. Findings suggest that a disturbing amount of toddler and preschool teachers endorsed a K-12 pushdown curriculum with the belief that young children should be able to sit and complete worksheets.

This systematic literature review has examined the various functions assumed by preschool educators in promoting developmentally appropriate practice, the differing beliefs held by preschool teachers concerning it, and the factors that influence the beliefs and perceptions of preschool teachers about it. To carry out this review, a comprehensive search strategy was employed across different databases to identify relevant studies published between 2010 and 2023. The inclusion criteria comprised studies that focused on the role and beliefs of preschool teachers in promoting developmentally appropriate practice. The review includes a total of 14 studies. The results indicate that preschool teachers play different roles in promoting developmentally appropriate practice, such as creating a safe and supportive learning environment, providing diverse learning experiences customised to the specific needs and interests of each child, working in collaboration with families to ensure that children receive the necessary support at home, and advocating for the needs of young children and their families. The beliefs of preschool teachers regarding developmentally appropriate practice are attributed to various factors, including their personal experiences as learners, their training and professional development, the culture of the preschool or school where they work, and the availability of resources and support to implement developmentally appropriate practice. The findings highlight the importance of preschool teachers having a strong comprehension of developmentally appropriate practice and being able to implement it effectively in their classrooms. Moreover, it is crucial to provide preschool teachers with professional development opportunities that can enhance their beliefs about developmentally appropriate practice and help them learn how to implement it effectively. V tem sistematičnem pregledu literature so bili obravnavani: različne naloge, ki jih imajo vzgojitelji pri spodbujanju razvojno primerne prakse, različna prepričanja vzgojiteljev o njej ter dejavniki, ki vplivajo na prepričanja in zaznave vzgojiteljev o njej. Za izvedbo tega pregleda je bila uporabljena obsežna iskalna strategija v različnih podatkovnih zbirkah, da bi našli ustrezne študije, objavljene med letoma 2010 in 2023. Merila za vključitev so zajemala študije, ki so se osredinjale na vlogo in prepričanja vzgojiteljev pri spodbujanju razvojno primerne prakse. V pregled je bilo vključenih skupno 14 študij. Izsledki kažejo, da imajo vzgojitelji pri spodbujanju razvojno primerne prakse različne vloge, kot so: ustvarjanje varnega in spodbudnega učnega okolja, zagotavljanje raznolikih učnih izkušenj, prilagojenih specifičnim potrebam in interesom vsakega otroka, sodelovanje z družinami, da bi otrokom zagotovili potrebno podporo doma, ter zagovarjanje potreb majhnih otrok in njihovih družin. Prepričanja vzgojiteljev o razvojno primerni praksi pripisujemo različnim dejavnikom, vključno z njihovimi osebnimi izkušnjami kot učenci, njihovim usposabljanjem in s strokovnim razvojem, kulturo vrtca ali šole, v kateri delajo, ter z razpoložljivostjo virov in podpore za izvajanje razvojno primerne prakse. Ugotovitve poudarjajo, da je pomembno, da vzgojitelji dobro razumejo razvojno ustrezno prakso in jo lahko učinkovito izvajajo v svojih razredih. Poleg tega je ključnega pomena, da se vzgojiteljem zagotovijo možnosti strokovnega razvoja, ki lahko okrepijo njihova prepričanja o razvojno ustrezni praksi in jim pomagajo, da se naučijo, kako jo učinkovito izvajati.

Despite evidence that play supports learning and development across a range of domains in early childhood, play time has been decreasing for many young children in recent years. Early care and education (ECE) teachers are in a unique position to promote developmentally appropriate play as a way to help young children learn, and ECE teachers’ ability to do so is recognized as a critical skill by several leading professional organizations, including the Council for Professional Development and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. This study examined how ECE teachers planned to use different types of play – ranging from child-led to teacher-led – to support young children’s learning and development across nine different learning domains. Our findings revealed that while ECE teachers do plan to use developmentally appropriate play, they may need additional professional development support on how to use multiple forms of play to teach across the learning domains.

The research literature well establishes that adverse conditions, such as poverty, can affect children’s cognitive development and academic achievement. Educators are challenged to translate these understandings into instructional practices grounded in research that best meet the needs of students, especially students living in poverty who are at greater risk for underperforming compared to their more resourced peers. This study explored the effects of two teachers’ direct instruction learning environments to test the hypothesis that Title I kindergarten students from low socioeconomic backgrounds will show greater gains in receptive vocabulary and literacy learning when purposeful play is incorporated. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 4th Edition (PPVT-4) results were analyzed in relation to students’ literacy learning as measured by i-Ready Diagnostic Reading at pre/post-test. While receptive vocabulary growth was greater in the didactic classroom, the reading growth was greater in the play-based classroom. Students with higher levels of receptive vocabulary in both classrooms also tended to perform better on measures of literacy achievement. The findings from this study, while limited, conclude that infusing both a play-based approach and systematic direct instruction may be the best way to support the literacy learning needs for all students. This study supports the bourgeoning research of play-based developmentally appropriate practices as an effective intervention to increase educational equity for vulnerable students.

The benefits of play to children’s development and academic learning are often discussed in the research. However, inconsistencies in definitions of play and differing perspectives concerning the purpose of play in educational settings make it challenging for teachers to determine how to productively integrate play-based pedagogies into their classrooms. This challenge is compounded by the inclusion of increasingly academic standards in kindergarten curricula resulting in the need to determine if and how teachers can integrate play-based pedagogies and mandated academic standards. The purpose of this study was to examine three teachers’ approaches to integrating play-based learning in their kindergarten classrooms. Specifically, teachers’ conceptions of the purpose of play and their role in structuring play-based learning were explicitly examined. This paper concludes with a discussion concerning the challenges teachers face in negotiating a balance between academic learning and the use of developmentally appropriate practices such as play, and the need for further research to determine if and how particular play-based approaches support the development of academic, social, and emotional skills.