The current status of child study centres in degree granting institutions in Canada

This study is designed to identify and describe child study centres operated by Canadian degree-granting institutions in 1978. The implications of the results are relevant to the efforts of those who are engaged in studying young children, those who are applying knowledge to the development of programs and practices and those who are providing guidance to parents and workers who interact with children day-to-day. Child study centres were identified by an enquiry mailed to administrators in the fifty degree-granting institutions in Canada. Twenty institutions were found to operate child study centres as defined for this investigation. Information describing the child study centres was gathered by means of a survey questionnaire mailed to each of the twenty persons named by their administrator. This included basic descriptions of the centres and information about aspects of the children's programs, faculty responsibility for and involvement with the centres, relative importance of the functions performed by the centres, policy making, supports and comment on the centres' impact on their communities. The study shows that more than two thirds of the child study centres have been established within the past ten years, confirmation of suggestions in the literature that child study has mushroomed in recent years. Most centres operate programs for preschool children, placing them in the tradition of laboratory preschools. Most are engaged in the preparation of teachers, whether they are under the auspices of a faculty of education or some other faculty or department. All, however, place emphasis on at least two of the four main functional areas examined: research, teacher preparation, dissemination of child-related knowledge, and service. More than one-third of centres do not have sufficient financial support to carry out present goals. Respondents from most centres express a desire to communicate with other centres across Canada, naming topics of common concern. Listed in the study is a catalogue of child study centres, many of which had been invisible in the literature. Such a list can enable communication to take place among them. Further investigation will be required to examine the extensive involvement with child study and children's programs taking place on Canadian campuses and whether the effectiveness of new knowledge is being tested by its application to children in typical life situations. It is suggested that diverse sources of funding and communication and cooperation among centres will be required if the potential of child study centres as powerful resources for the translation of knowledge into practice is to be achieved.Education, Faculty ofGraduat