| Abstract: | The controversy over what is an appropriate early childhood curriculum has created a need for research instruments designed to measure classroom practices. This article reports on the development of a new observational measure based on the Guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practices of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The Classroom Practices Inventory (CPI) is a 26-item rating scale tapping the curricular emphasis and emotional climate of programs for 4- and 5-year-old children. The scale demonstrated a high degree of internal consistency. Over half the measure's variance was accounted for by a factor tapping encouragement of curiosity, creativity, and provision of concrete materials. In a study of 10 preschool programs, CPI scores correlated significantly with teachers' and parents' educational attitudes. Modest relationships were found between the CPI scores of children's preschools and measures of academic skills, creativity, and anxiety. The CPI appears to be a promising measure for critically examining the concept of developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood education. |
