Teacher educators as interpreters: the role of faculty in guiding student learning of DAP within sociocultural, institutional, and individual contexts

Abstract

ABSTRACT The construct of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) has become a hallmark for educational practice in the United States. From DAP's initial publication in 1986 to the most recent revision published in 2022, DAP serves as a reference point for teacher education to support effective teachers' development and practice. However, DAP is a construct shaped by individuals' experiences and sociopolitical contexts and not a uniformly understood construct. Teacher educator faculty's role is central to supporting students' understanding and faculty serve as interpreters of information by making choices and drawing on their beliefs and experiences to shape students' understanding and implementation of DAP. Faculty use reflection as a tool to support their choices of resources, assignments, and content related to DAP. This manuscript will offer important considerations related to students' understanding of DAP and illustrate how faculty beliefs and reflection guide faculty in this role of interpreter of the construct of DAP within the sociopolitical contexts that influence teacher education.