Cape Foundation Phase Research Programme: Quality Teaching and Teacher Education Practice

If you are a lecturer responsible for supporting teacher development at the Foundation Phase (FP) level, this guide is for you. It explores fundamental principles of Early Childhood Education (ECE) practice, offering what we hope is a clear but critical explanation of what is called ‘Developmentally Appropriate Practice’ (DAP). This explanation is accompanied by a series of reflections which raise questions that you as a teacher educator might use to clarify your own thinking, in preparation for teaching and engaging with students. There are also suggested readings which can enrich and deepen your own as well as your students’ understandings of ECE practice. We also provide a number of student tasks which, together with the explanations and readings, we hope can help to make the concepts come alive for you and your students. The readings and activities are intended primarily for you to use with students in class, but you might find it helpful to go through them yourself beforehand.