The Dilemma of Linking Theory and Research With Practice and Innovation in Child Development Laboratory Programs

An Integrative Literature Review of University-Based Early Childhood Education and Care Centres within Early Childhood Teacher Education Settings

“…The top right quadrant represents approximately 64% (n = 34) of the centres. These university ECEC centres implemented academic functions in their daily activities [3,15,18,23,24,31,32,35,36,40,43,[55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71] and are reviewed in Section 3.2.…”

“…Child development center 1 Karen Slattery Educational Research Center for Child Development [57]; The campus laboratory school child development center 1 [23]; Harold E. Jones Child Study Center [61]; GMU Child Development Center [40]; Virginia Tech Child Development Lab School [35] Child development laboratory school 1 [59] Botanical Garden Room 1 [24]; Experimental Greenhouse Room 1 [24]; Wildflower Valley Room 1 [24]; Harold E. Jones Child Study Center [66] 1 Pseudonym or the type of centre, if the name was not mentioned in a publication; 2 According to the publication, the centre is not operating anymore.…”

“…The training of preservice teachers (n = 48) took many shapes. Preservice teaching (n = 17) was often connected with later studies [70]; see also [24,35,56,[59][60][61]66,67,71], and an earlier teaching experience in the (university) ECEC centre [59,62] might be required before the start of preservice teaching. It was a common type of training in the bachelor's degree programme (n = 12) and it focused on offering a working experience under supervision or mentoring.…”

“…The duration of preservice teaching typically varied from eight weeks to a year. Moreover, internships (n = 11) might be placed at the end of the studies [3,15,64,69] and might have required earlier experience in the university ECEC centre [59]. Internships were supervised or mentored teaching experiences at bachelor's (n = 8) and master's degree programmes (n = 2), but they were also an essential part of the qualification process after bachelor's studies (n = 2).…”

From an Academician's Preschool Diary: Emergent Curriculum and Its Practices in a Qualified Example of Laboratory Preschool

“…The second is to provide the model education for children and also to educate the university students on early childhood and child development. The final aim is to spread the knowledge based on the research on child development and child-rearing to parents and public (Clawson, 2003;McBride & Hicks, 1998;McBride & Lee, 1995;McBride et al, 2012;Stremmel, Hill, & Fu, 2003). Today, these three main aims have continued to be accepted in the laboratory preschools schools in the United States of America and they have turned into the social and educational policies from the 1920s to present.…”