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Developmentalism, Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and Beyond in Early Childhood Education

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Encyclopedia of Teacher Education

Introduction

One of the aims of education is to teach humans to govern themselves and learn to be governed according to what counts as truths in societies at the time. This is the assertion of the eminent twentieth-century French philosopher Michel Foucault. Historically, one of the tasks of modern education was to provide teaching strategies to support and shape the developing human according to universal, scientifically underscored, developmental patterns. In many societies, developmentalism continues to provide a powerful rationale for pedagogies and curriculum. This discussion provides a critique of the traditional perspective on developmentalism, normativity, and developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), offering an alternative view on individual diversity and responsive context-specific engagement.

Developmentalism in Education

For education, which according to Foucault is one of the human sciences which aim is to teach humans to govern themselves and learn to be governed...

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References

  • Bredekamp, S. (1987). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Peninsula Campus, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Iris Duhn & Louise Hennessy

Authors
  1. Iris Duhn
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  2. Louise Hennessy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Iris Duhn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. WMIER, The University of Waikato WMIER, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand

    Michael A. Peters

Section Editor information

  1. Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand

    Sue Stover

  2. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden

    Valerie Margrain

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© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Duhn, ., Hennessy, L. (2019). Developmentalism, Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and Beyond in Early Childhood Education. In: Peters, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_95-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_95-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-1179-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-1179-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

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