Is DAP Moving Us Toward Global Sustainability?
NAEYC's Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) has guided early education programs in the US since 1986, but makes no explicit reference to children living on a planet in crisis. For over twenty years, researchers and teacher-educators Dr. Sue Elliott and Dr. Vicki Carr have advocated for new approaches to early childhood education that help prepare children for their sustainable futures. Sue Elliott, Ed. D., is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the University of New England, Australia. Her publications include Researching Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: Challenging Assumptions and Orthodoxies and Early Years Learning in Australian Natural Environments. Dr. Victoria Carr is Professor of Early Childhood Education and Executive Director of the Arlitt Center for Education, Research, and Sustainability at the University of Cincinnati. Her research on nature playscapes and STEM education has been supported by the US National Science Foundation, and she serves as Co-Editor for Children, Youth & Environments.
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