Institute of Child Study

The [http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ICS/ Institute of Child Study] (ICS) is a research and education institution with Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. ICS is a part of the Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology; its tripartite mandate:
# To bring together multidisciplinary research into child development and education carried out at the Dr. R.G.N. Laidlaw Research Centre;
# Graduate teacher education offered through a 2-year Master of Arts degree in Child Study and Education that includes Ontario Elementary Teacher Certification; and
# The Institute of Child Study Laboratory School for children ages 3-12.

Dr. R.G.N. Laidlaw Research Centre

Endowed in 1992, research at the Centre is aimed at understanding children and innovative programs to support their education and development. An over-arching theme for investigation is how to promote the movement of research into practice, or in some cases, how research emerges from practice through action research. Some areas of interest are concerned with elementary education, including literacy, numeracy, and science, with supports for understanding how new technologies may contribute to children’s learning and how knowledge building communities are formed. Another focal point of research is concerned with early childhood development and community-school relationships that support children and families [ [http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ics/site_LaidlawCentre/resources/pdf/laidlaw_report_final.pdf Microsoft Word - LAIDLAW REPORT FINAL.doc ] ] . Research at the centre benefits from collaboration among faculty, graduate students, and the ICS Laboratory School teacher-researchers, and by links to partner schools.

Masters in Child Study and Education

The 2-year MA in Child Study and Education, first offered in 1997, is offered to students holding a four-year bachelor’s degree in any discipline. It combines elementary teacher education with graduate studies. Students in the MA program carryout practicum teaching assignments at the ICS Laboratory School, as well as in public school settings. The program offers students a thesis option—Qualifying Research Paper—generally undertaken by students who plan to pursue doctoral work.

Institute of Child Study Laboratory School

The ICS Laboratory School, established in 1926 as the St. George’s School for Child Study, is an elementary school that severs 200 children from Nursery to Grade 6, and serves as a research site for university faculty, Laboratory School teacher-researchers, and graduate students.

History of the Institute

In 1925 Professor Edward Bott established the St. George’s School for Child Study at the University of Toronto, which would eventually come to be known as The Institute for Child Study. A number of factors contributed to the schools beginnings: the efforts of the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene of which Bott was a prominent member, the emergence of psychology as a discipline distinct from philosophy at the University of Toronto, the philanthropic activities of the Rockefeller Foundation, and the evolution of the Child Study movement in North America [http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ICS/resources/Hist%20of%20ICS.pdf] .

In 1924, with project grants awarded by the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Foundation and the Canadian National Mental Hygiene Committee, Bott set up an interdisciplinary project administration board. He hired Dr. William Blatz, who was then responsible for directing projects for the board, which included setting up a major longitudinal study of some 1400 elementary school children to study specific areas of their social adjustment [Raymond, 1991, p.87] , designing and implementing a laboratory nursery school, and developing a parental education program. While the large scale study was carried out at the Regal Road Public School, the nursery school and the parent education program were to become the two major divisions of the St. George’s School.

By 1937 the funding of the Rockefeller foundation covered only about half of the school’s expenses, and a special committee was appointed by the university governors to consider the future of St. George’s. The decision was to make child study a faculty unto itself, which would keep it under the wing of the University of Toronto, but invite outside financing. In 1937, St. George's School for Child Study, including the research and graduate education activities, was renamed the Institute of Child Study [ Raymond, 1991, p.143.] .

Notes

References

* Raymond, Jocelyn M. (1991). The Nursery World of Dr. Blatz. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-2793-8
* Volpe, Richard. [http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ICS/resources/Hist%20of%20ICS.pdf "The History of Child Study and Education At The University of Toronto"] , 2006. Accessed March 1, 2008.