In early childhood education (ECE), curriculum encompasses prevailing theories, approaches and models. Curriculum is planned appropriately based on the knowledge of theory and research about how children develop and learn, with special attention given to individual children's needs and interests in relation to program goals. In this paper, focusing on ECE, I discuss the underlying rationale, principles and meaning of developmentally appropriate curriculum (DAC) as developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in the United States in 1987. Drawing from relevant literature, I discuss issues of relevance, and application related to DAC with specific reference to ECE experience in Hong Kong.
幼兒教育課程包括了不少流行的理論、方法與模式。適切的課程是基於幼兒理論、研究與設計，而課程目標能照顧兒童的身心發展、學習、個別需要和興趣。本文旨在探討由國際幼兒教育協會(NAEYC)所倡議的發展適切幼兒課程之理念、原則和意義。作者探用相關文獻資料，引用香港之事地實例來討論發展適切課程的相關和應用。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]