of Young Children (NAEYC) has adopted DAP as part of its attempt to establish standards for best practice in the area of the education of children (from birth to 8 years of age). This was established in a position statement, which some scholars view has contributed to the thinking and discourse about practices in early childhood programs. The statement described DAP as an "empirically based principles of child development and learning". Updates in NAEYC 2020 Position Statement In the updated 2020 position statement, NAEYC admitted that previous position statements painted social and cultural differences "as deficits and gaps" instead of viewing them as "assets or strengths to be built upon". The revisions made were in hopes to highlight the updated core considerations: (1)There are "greater variations" within the stages of development, which the previous versions failed to realize the "critical role" social and cultural differences have on student learning and development. (2) While children need to learn and understand different social and cultural contexts, educators also need to recognize their own "biases— both implicit and explicit" to ensure their teaching does not negatively impact student learning. Studies have revealed that the use of DAP has led to an increase in children's receptive language, particularly in DAP programs that include higher-literacy environment and developmentally appropriate activities. Implications for Instruction There are different suggestions for teachers to engage in developmentally appropriate practice depending on students’ stage of development. Infants Set an environment that prompts exploration and make sure it is safe and stimulating Meet physical needs of the infant by providing clean and quiet areas Support infants’ families by providing culturally sensitive care Early childhood Provide assurance to children who may have difficulties separating from their guardian Allow children to explore classroom environment Foster joy for literature in children Middle Childhood Encourage families and caregivers to be actively involved in activities Make sure students acquire basic academic skills, such as letter identification and sound correspondence Allow students to form positive relationships with peers with guidance Early Adolescence Design a curriculum that will challenge students to incorporate knowledge and skills across multiple content areas Assign an adult to check the welfare of each student Critics DAP is one of a number of practices associated with Outcome-based education and other progressive education reform movements. Some critics have argued that some reforms such as NCTM mathematics and Whole Language which fully support "Developmentally Appropriate Practices"