Researchers observed pre-kindergarten through
second-grade public school classrooms, specifically noting
child-centered and teacher-directed pedagogical approa￾ches, by simultaneously examining: (a) student behavior
and activities, (b) teacher instructional orientation and
rationale, and (c) overall classroom environment. Dissim￾ilar to previous studies, researchers noted the nature of
activity structure and various student demographic vari￾ables. Additionally, unlike prior classroom observation
studies that included an overwhelming percentage of white
students, the current study was comprised of a large per￾centage of Hispanic and African American students. The
findings revealed: little to no variation existed in the
activities in which young children were engaged in their
classrooms, nor in the instructional practices utilized by
their early childhood teachers; however, three statistically
significant findings showed: (a) students taught by teachers
rated as having a higher developmentally appropriate
instructional practices (DAIP) scores were more likely to
be on-task and less likely to be off-task; (b) students taught
by teachers with a higher DAIP score were more likely to
be working kinesthetically, answering teacher-posed
questions, and freely exploring; and (c) students taught by
teachers with a lower DAIP score were more likely to be
distracted and/or not engaging in activity. The findings are
important, since young children continue to be taught in a
direct instructional manner that focuses on students’ test
performance—despite research showing the unfavorable
effects that highly teacher-centered, scripted classrooms
have on young students’ engagement and learning
outcomes.

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• Using Systematic Classroom Observation to Explore Student Engagement as a Function of Teachers’ Developmentally Appropriate Instructional Practices (DAIP) in Ethnically Diverse Pre-kindergarten Through Second-Grade Classrooms

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