Level of Awareness of Developmentally Appropriate Practices Among Preschool Teachers and School Owners Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State

This study was designed to investigate the level of awareness of DAP among pre-school teachers and pre-school owners/head teachers in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State. The study adopted a descriptive survey research type. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 20 pre-schools. Also 160 preschool teachers and 20 preschool owners/head teachers were randomly selected from each of the preschools. One validated instrument tagged "Teachers' Awareness of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (TADAP) Questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. The reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained for the instrument reliability. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings from the study revealed that the majority of preschool stakeholders are aware of developmentally appropriate practices through variety of learning areas and projects such as dramatic play, construction, art, music and science experiences that can facilitate cognitive, social, physical and emotional development of the preschoolers. Also, findings revealed that teachers' qualification and teaching experience significantly influence their level of awareness of DAP in pre-school. Based on the finding of this study recommendations were made among others that practicing teachers should be adequately trained on the structure, philosophy and strategies of DAP.