This ERIC Digest examines recent research on DAP and social-emotional and cognitive development, and describes what we have learned about DAP in early childhood classrooms. Two research teams documented that children exhibit more stress in didactic environments than in child-initiated environments.
Classrooms characterized by child initiation appear to facilitate children's creative development.
Young children in developmentally appropriate programs also seemed more confident in their own cognitive skills. When using the traditional measuring sticks of achievement tests and report card grades, it is difficult to say whether child-centered or didactic programs are superior. Similar to the state of affairs for social development, the available research is equivocal with regard to these assessments of cognitive development. The majority of the studies indicate that a didactic approach is not necessary to promote children's learning of academic skills. Mathematics achievement was similar for children in both types of classrooms, however.