Abstract
Developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) are the gold standard for teaching practices in early childhood education. NAEYC developed DAP in order to provide classrooms for young children that foster learning and development. These DAP standards were derived from research of learning and developmental theories. Early educators are expected to uphold to the high standards of DAP without the proper theoretical understand to put DAP into practice. This Master’s Project addresses that problem by aligning sociocultural developmental theory (SCDT) to DAP in order to strengthen the theory/practice connection for practitioners. The handbook was developed to give early educators the theoretical knowledge of SCDT in order to put DAP into practice. The handbook was evaluated by practitioners in the field of early childhood education to gather feedback on handbook contents and usefulness.