Research Works | LSU Early Childhood Education Laboratory School

What kind of research happens at the ECE Lab Preschool?

Unique, cutting-edge projects help us understand early childhood development, education, problem-solving and more. As a model demonstration site within our community and a training site for undergraduate and graduate students, the preschool's mission is to generate knowledge about best practices in early childhood education. 

Take a look at some of our projects.

Parent perspectives on preschool

child painting

 Parents want the best for their children. We want the best for our students.

 
This study seeks to deeply understand parent perspectives on preschool programs by sampling parents of three, four, and five-year-old children. Using photographs of preschool-aged children in a variety of activities, we will determine parents' outlooks on activities that encourage reasoning, predicting, analyzing, and the quest for understanding. Our goal is to help parents recognize the benefits of supporting children's natural curiosity and cultivate a life-long love of learning. Full Abstract: Parent Perspectives on Preschool

The Impact of Video Self-Reflection

children playing

Video self-reflection has been documented in the literature as a mechanism for teaching new skills. The purpose of the present study is to provide teachers with a mechanism for structured self-study via video observations of their teaching using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System.

Full Abstract: Impact of Video Self-Reflection

A Shift in Philosophical Approach

child looking at art

The purpose of the proposed study is to gain perspectives of teachers and children on the shift in philosophical approach at the LSU Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool. The teachers will be interviewed mid-year and at the end of the year to document their perspective on the philosophical transition.

Full Abstract: Perspectives on a shift in philosophical approach

The Development of Rule-Governed Pro-Social Behavior in Young Children 

group of children

The purpose of this study is to examine the process by which young children develop rule-governed behavior, specifically applied to helping behavior.

Full Abstract: The Development of Rule Governed Pro-Social Behavior in Young Children

Establishing Classification Reasoning in Young Children

child playing with kitchen set

This study examines the impact of learning experiences on the emergence of hierarchical reasoning in young children. This study is the activity participants would wait for in the rule-governed behavior study (left).

Full Abstract: Transitive Class Containment – Abstract

Child-Sustained Attention

child playing with toy

The purpose of this study is to determine the mean duration of child attention to a self-selected toy and to determine the longest duration under which teaching condition children attend to toy play (child choice, adult choice, or adult presentation).  Two- and three-year-old children will be observed under each teaching condition and data will be collected on the child’s duration of child attention.

Full Abstract: Child Sustained Attention

Effects of Music on the Time to Quiet Rest

child listening to adult

The purpose of this research project is to examine the effects of ambient music on the amount of time it takes preschool children to achieve a quiet resting state at naptime. Results will contribute to a deeper understanding of how music may be used to facilitate naptime in preschool classrooms.

Full Abstract: A Descriptive Study of the Use of Music During Naptime in Childcare Centers in Louisiana

Full Abstract: The Effects of a Bestselling Children’s Naptime Recording on the Time to Rest Among Preschool Children Enrolled in a University Child Care Center

Primary researcher: Dr. Daniel Isbell