New Directions in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation: Developmentally and Culturally Appropriate Practice (DCAP)

Teacher education criteria of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has included a multicultural education component since 1979. Recent revisions of these standards (NCATE, 1992a & b) address multicultural education perspectives even more explicitly. NCATE standards also discuss the necessity of addressing Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP). DAP is defined as an important philosophical framework and related pedagogical guideline for early childhood education that emphasizes age appropriateness and individual appropriateness when planning programs for young children (Bredekamp, 1987).