BackgroundThere has been a widespread interest in the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) framework for Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP). Since the release of DAP in 1987, the framework was quickly criticized with reference to DAP ignoring the importance of children's social and cultural backgrounds and a focus on development as a universal goal (Delpit 1988;Jipson 1991;Kessler 1991). Although Bredekamp (1993) stated that some of the criticism (e.g., Fowell and Lawton 1993) of DAP are based on misinterpretations of the statement, changes to the second and third position statements have been seen by many to address major issues concerning diversity and cultural background, second-language learners, and special needs children (Copple and Bredekamp 2009). More recently, variations in cultural practices have been shown to be consistent with DAP and researchers have explored how teachers respond to DAP when there are clear contrasts with their own beliefs and values. For example, Sanders et al. (2007) have explored African American teacher's perceptions of DAP in the 'hood;
AbstractSince the first release of NAEYC's guidelines, DAP has received a lot of attention from childhood professionals in the United States. Internationally, many countries have also shown a growing interest regarding DAP, yet interest in DAP is new to the Saudi educators. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore preschool teachers' subjective beliefs toward NAEYC's guidelines of DAP in Saudi Arabia, one of the most conservative Middle Eastern countries. Q Methodology, as a mixed methods approach, was used to study 37 preschool teachers randomly selected from five preschools in Mecca city. The participants sorted 50 cards with examples of DAP and developmentally inappropriate practice (DIP) or "In Contrast" statements which represented perceived importance of the practice to the sorter. To analyze the data, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation indicated four main components regarding the beliefs of Saudi preschool teachers as they relate to DAP's guidelines. Each component represents a unique perspective (viewpoint) on how Saudi preschool teachers view DAP and contrasting items based on their subjective points of view. The four main perspectives that emerged from the analysis show a dominance consensus among perspectives that fit equitably within the DAP framework regarding the best practice of early childhood education. Findings from this study provide evidence that many aspects of developmentally appropriate practice can be appropriate in different cultures and countries.
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