The Head Start program served as a preschool model to provide equal educational opportunities for ‘‘at risk’’ children. (Shelley
Gazin/Corbis-Bettmann)
ond, these programs allow children to develop at
their own pace and to pursue their own interests.
Third, these programs allow children to control their
own learning by relying on discovery and exploration
rather than on drill and practice or other teacher-
controlled activities. Fourth, developmentally appro-
priate programs provide activities matched to an in-
dividual child’s current level of functioning, with the
aim being for the child to participate in activities that
require skills just slightly in advance of those already
in the child’s repertoire. Finally, developmentally ap-
propriate programs have a realistic academic orienta-
tion—one that introduces some basic academic skills
but without attempting to push children too far aca-
demically.
Developmentally appropriate practices have
been shown to lead to positive child outcomes. In a
study by Luigi Girolametto, Elaine Weitzman, Riet
van Lieshout, and Dawna Duff, for example, the re-
searchers found that preschoolers talked more and in
more sophisticated ways when their teachers used de-
velopmentally appropriate language (e.g., open-
ended questions, utterances that followed rather than
redirected the children’s attention) rather than de-
velopmentally inappropriate language (e.g., com-
mands and test questions, which reflected the
teacher’s ‘‘agenda’’ rather than the children’s inter-
ests). There is also evidence that preschool programs
designed to ‘‘speed up’’ children’s academic progress,
which are by definition developmentally inappropri-
ate, lead to a number of undesirable outcomes, in-
cluding less creativity, a less positive attitude about
school, and no lasting positive impact on academic
performance.Cultural Variations
Cross-national comparisons conducted in the late
1990s raised concerns about declining achievement
for students in the United States, especially as com-
pared to students in Japan and other Asian countries.
In making such comparisons, it is important to recog-
nize that any nation is a diverse collection of cultures,
philosophies, and educational practices. Ignoring
such diversity can lead to stereotyped conceptions of
another country’s or culture’s educational practices.
It is possible in some instances, however, to identify
a modal, or most popular, educational philosophy or
practice for a particular country. This makes it possi-PRESCHOOL 335