Laboratory schools in the United States have been in existence in some form since the establishment of normal schools in 1839. Heavily criticized in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, many laboratory schools would close their doors for a variety of reasons. One laboratory school in particular, the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School, was established under a unique charter agreement between the Falk family and the University of Pittsburgh. The school opened its doors in the fall of 1931 and is still in operation today. The primary purpose of this qualitative historical analysis was to understand the functions and purposes of the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School and to understand why this laboratory school has been in continual existence without break. The results of this study indicated that the primary purposes and functions of the Falk School to provide opportunities for clinical teaching and student teaching opportunities. The unique charter agreement between the Falk family and the University of Pittsburgh is also cited as a primary reason for the continued existence of the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School. Further exploration of these findings and implications for practice, theory, and for future research are discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>Laboratory schools in the United States have been in existence in some form since the establishment of normal schools in 1839. Heavily criticized in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, many laboratory schools would close their doors for a variety of reasons. One laboratory school in particular, the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School, was established under a unique charter agreement between the Falk family and the University of Pittsburgh. The school opened its doors in the fall of 1931 and is still in operation today. The primary purpose of this qualitative historical analysis was to understand the functions and purposes of the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School and to understand why this laboratory school has been in continual existence without break. The results of this study indicated that the primary purposes and functions of the Falk School to provide opportunities for clinical teaching and student teaching opportunities. The unique charter agreement between the Falk family and the University of Pittsburgh is also cited as a primary reason for the continued existence of the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School. Further exploration of these findings and implications for practice, theory, and for future research are discussed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Meyer-Kukan, Scott"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Leadership and Counseling","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Professor David Anderson, Ed.D.","Professor James Berry, Ed.D.","Professor Patrice Bounds, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:47Z","subjects":["laboratory schools","clinical teaching","student teaching","Educational Administration and Supervision"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1123","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Professor David Anderson, Ed.D.","Professor James Berry, Ed.D.","Professor Patrice Bounds, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Meyer-Kukan, Scott"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-06-13T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Leadership and Counseling"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["laboratory schools","clinical teaching","student teaching","Educational Administration and Supervision"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1123"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Laboratory schools in the United States have been in existence in some form since the establishment of normal schools in 1839. Heavily criticized in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, many laboratory schools would close their doors for a variety of reasons. One laboratory school in particular, the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School, was established under a unique charter agreement between the Falk family and the University of Pittsburgh. The school opened its doors in the fall of 1931 and is still in operation today. The primary purpose of this qualitative historical analysis was to understand the functions and purposes of the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School and to understand why this laboratory school has been in continual existence without break. The results of this study indicated that the primary purposes and functions of the Falk School to provide opportunities for clinical teaching and student teaching opportunities. The unique charter agreement between the Falk family and the University of Pittsburgh is also cited as a primary reason for the continued existence of the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School. Further exploration of these findings and implications for practice, theory, and for future research are discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An historical analysis of the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School at the University of Pittsburgh"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Professor David Anderson, Ed.D.","Professor James Berry, Ed.D.","Professor Patrice Bounds, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Meyer-Kukan, Scott"],"dc:date.available":["2022-06-13T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Laboratory schools in the United States have been in existence in some form since the establishment of normal schools in 1839. Heavily criticized in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, many laboratory schools would close their doors for a variety of reasons. One laboratory school in particular, the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School, was established under a unique charter agreement between the Falk family and the University of Pittsburgh. The school opened its doors in the fall of 1931 and is still in operation today. The primary purpose of this qualitative historical analysis was to understand the functions and purposes of the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School and to understand why this laboratory school has been in continual existence without break. The results of this study indicated that the primary purposes and functions of the Falk School to provide opportunities for clinical teaching and student teaching opportunities. The unique charter agreement between the Falk family and the University of Pittsburgh is also cited as a primary reason for the continued existence of the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School. Further exploration of these findings and implications for practice, theory, and for future research are discussed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1123"],"dc:subject":["laboratory schools","clinical teaching","student teaching","Educational Administration and Supervision"],"dc:title":["An historical analysis of the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School at the University of Pittsburgh"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Leadership and Counseling"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:47Z"}