Developmentally Appropriate Practice and Student Achievement in Inner-City Elementary Schools.
Author(s):
Sherman, Carey Wexler; Mueller, Daniel P.
Format:
Report
Publisher:
1996.
Language:
English
Abstract:
There is abundant theoretical support for the value of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) at the elementary school level, but there has been relatively little research to document its effects. This paper explores the relationship between DAP and student achievement among low-income students in St. Paul, Minnesota, using research from an on-going evaluation of the Head Start-Public School Early Childhood Transition Demonstration Project. The degree of implementation of DAP in kindergarten, first, and second grades, and its relationship to student achievement were studied, and whether there were differential effects on the Hmong student population was investigated. Two clusters of elementary schools, six in all, were studied, with the Demonstration project implemented in one cluster. The preliminary results from this study indicate that there are significant relationships between DAP in the classroom and early student achievement in mathematics and reading. The positive relationships occurred across cultural groups in the sample. Even though the degree of DAP implementation overall was relatively modest, impacts on achievement and teacher attitudes were apparent. (Contains 3 tables and 14 references.) (SLD)