What is a Laboratory School?
Early Childhood Laboratory Schools date back to 1894 and are generally housed in Psychology or Home Economics Departments. Typically, laboratory schools strive to fulfill a 3-part mission. One, laboratory schools facilitate research endeavors designed to learn more about various topics such as; how children grow and develop, how children should best be educated, family and parenting issues, teacher behavior, and teaching training concerns.
The second mission is two-fold. First, laboratory schools provide exemplary educational facilities for young children. Second, laboratory schools provide undergraduate and graduate students training in child development and early childhood education. Finally, the third mission focuses on providing service to the community in the form of child care and to the early childhood professional community in the form of training, educational presentations, membership on advisory boards, etc.