The Developmentally Appropriate Practice for Toddlers of Teachers and Administrators at Child Development Centers in Thailand

Abstract

              The purposes of this research were 1) to study the developmentally appropriate practice for toddlers of teachers and administrators at child development centers in Thailand and 2) to study the developmental approach of the appropriate practices for toddlers of teachers and administrators at childcare centers in Thailand. The study group was  4 administrators and 4 teachers in 4 child development centers. Each center consisted of            4 administrator and 8 teachers, totaling 12 people. The research tools were an interview form, an observation form and a survey. The data was analyzed by frequency, percentage and content analysis. The results of the research showed that 1) the developmentally appropriate practice for toddlers of administrators and teachers at 4 childcare centers were implemented in 6 areas and covered the standards of development of appropriate practices and 2) there were some approaches of developmentally appropriate practice for the toddlers of teachers and administrators of the child development center. For the school policies, there should be additional budget for purchasing learning materials, and defective or insufficient playset. The teacher ratio should be adequate for the number of children. For creating the proper curriculum, they should enhance the curriculum's current understanding and adaptability to the context and culture of the child. For creating an appropriate environment for young children, there should be a more suitable environment for the toddler and a well for the children to play freely. For assessing of child development and learning, they should use various developmental assessments including portfolio. For creating partnerships with parents, they should provide more communication venues such as news and letters and inviting parents to participate in children’s classroom activities. Lastly, for teaching that promotes development and learning, there should be a development of writing lesson plans to organize experiences that suit an appropriate learning for toddlers.