Observations and Class Project Policies and Confidentiality Statement

The Child Development Lab (CDL) is pleased to cooperate with requests for observations and class projects. These policies have been developed to ensure the privacy of the children, families and teachers at the University of Missouri-Columbia CDL. All instructors or students who conduct observations or class projects are asked to read and adhere to the following policies:

1. All University students must be enrolled in a course sponsored by a faculty member.
2. All community groups must have a sponsor who will be responsible for the group while observing at the CDL.
3. No food, drink or talking is allowed in the observation booths. Please see Observation Guidelines for more information.
4. A Class Project Request or Student Project Request should be submitted to the administration at least one week prior to the start date for approval.
5. Class/Student Project Requests will be evaluated and approved based on the appropriateness of the project, the degree of consistency with the CDL philosophy, the level of intrusiveness, and the provisions for confidentiality.
6. The Class/Student Project Request will be discussed with certain members of the teaching staff and approved by the CDL director, a laboratory instructor, and an assistant instructor.
7. The teaching staff and director will supervise approved projects.
8. Children must provide assent in order to participate in the project. If the child becomes tired, restless or unwilling, the child's participation will end and may be rescheduled for a later date.
9. Students may not take photographic images, make videotaped observations, or collect other information about children in the lab school without both parental and child informed consent.
10. All photographic images or videotapes should be respectful examples and used solely for the purposes identified in the class project.
11. All photographic images or videotapes may not be used in any electronic media.
12. All photographic images or videotapes may not be published unless authorized by a parent release.
13. The CDL director will monitor all approved projects.
14. The approved project may be terminated at the discretion of the CDL director at any time for any reason.
15. All information collected from the MU Child Development Laboratory must be treated with the highest confidentiality and used solely for the purposes identified in the project.

	Printer-Friendly			E-Mail It!			Add to Favorites