Increasing Awareness of Developmentally Appropriate Practices in the Early Childhood Education Community through Pre-Service and In-Service Training Programs.

This practicum report describes a community college program developed for the purpose of increasing the awareness of early childhood personnel in a central Ontario (Canada) community concerning the benefits of developmentally appropriate practices. The need for the program arose from a discrepancy between the emphasis in community college courses on implementing child-initiated activities, and the prevalence of teacher-directed activities in classrooms used for students' practicum placements. In-service training included a course designed to increase practitioners' skills in designing developmentally appropriate environments and the establishment of a support group for practitioners. A third-year specialist program was also initiated at the community college. The pre-service program was changed in such a way that it more closely linked theory and practice. Evaluation of the program yielded positive results. (PCB)