Developmentally appropriate practice (or DAP) is a perspective within early childhood education whereby a teacher or child caregiver nurtures a child's social/emotional, physical, and cognitive development. It is also described as a philosophy in child education that is based on child development knowledge where professionals base their instruction and care on research, standards, and recognized theory. Concept Developmentally appropriate practice emphasizes what is known about children and what can be done about individual children as a basis of decision-making when it comes to instruction and care. It recognizes that children's needs and abilities change over time and depend on universal laws governing these to determine the propriety of practice. DAP also holds that children have natural disposition towards learning, hence, they are capable of constructing their own knowledge through exploration and interaction with others, learning materials, and their environment. For these reasons, early childhood programs do not look and function alike. The DAP has three core components: knowledge about development and learning; knowledge about individual children; and, knowledge about the social and cultural contexts where children grow and learn. Particularly, the teacher or provider of care bases all practices and decisions on (1) theories of child development, (2) individually identified strengths and needs of each child uncovered through authentic assessment, and (3) the child's cultural background as defined by his community, family history, and family structure. DAP is centered around instructors' "intentionality" of their instruction so that students are able to accomplish goals that are "both challenging and achievable for children". In DAP, knowledge of child development is valued because it “permits general predictions" to be made by instructors to influence what instruction should be used to best benefit student learning based on their developmental stage. It influences teacher decisions on which “environment, materials, interaction and activities” should be used in the classroom based on “broad predictions" of children in a particular age groups. Knowledge of the individual child is another core consideration of DAP because through observation, teachers may learn “implications for how to best adapt" instruction based on the specific needs of an individual student. The last core consideration for DAP, is that instructors should also learn more about social and cultural context children grow up in their homes. This is valued so students learn and grow through instruction that is "meaningful, relevant, and respectful for each child and family”. Learning standard The National Association for the Education