Preschool

What makes a program "high quality"? High quality is defined by a number of factors, including a low child-teacher ratio, adequate physical space, a staff whose members are highly experienced, and a wealth of play and curricular materials. Most importantly, however, high-quality programs are defined by developmentally appropriate practices.

Developmentally appropriate programs have five characteristics. First, these programs attempt to facilitate not only cognitive development but also social and emotional development, focusing on areas such as learning to take turns, learning to respect others, and feeling good about one's accomplishments. Second, The Head Start program served as a preschool model to provide equal educational opportunities for "at risk" children. (Shelley Gazin/Corbis-Bettmann) 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 appropriate programs provide activities matched to an individual 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 appropriate programs have a realistic academic orientation—one that introduces some basic academic skills but without attempting to push children too far academically.

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 researchers found that preschoolers talked more and in more sophisticated ways when their teachers used developmentally appropriate language (e.g., open-ended questions, utterances that followed rather than redirected the children's attention) rather than developmentally inappropriate language (e.g., commands and test questions, which reflected the teacher's "agenda" rather than the children's interests). There is also evidence that preschool programs designed to "speed up" children's academic progress, which are by definition developmentally inappropriate, lead to a number of undesirable outcomes, including less creativity, a less positive attitude about school, and no lasting positive impact on academic performance.