Attitudes Towards Developmentally Appropriate Classroom Practices Among Kindergarten Teachers in Tennessee

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the opinions of kindergarten teachers about developmentally appropriate practices and their effects on students externalizing behaviors. It was expected that these teachers would hold positive associations of developmentally appropriate practices paired with negative associations of current academic standards. The kindergarten teachers participated by completing a survey, attending one individual interview, and one group discussion. Results indicate that the participants do not hold negative associations of current academic standards and believe that developmentally appropriate practice does mitigate some externalizing behaviors in students. Lastly, this study found that teachers believed that student’s externalizing problem behaviors were not linked directly to academic standards, but rather to internal traits related to each individual student.