Normal schools

A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turning out primary school teachers. Most such schools are now called teacher training colleges or teachers' colleges, currently require a high school diploma for entry, and may be part of a comprehensive university. Normal schools in the United States, Canada and Argentina trained teachers for primary schools, while in Europe, the equivalent colleges typically educated teachers for primary schools and later extended their curricula to also cover secondary schools.

In 1685, St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, founded what is generally considered the first normal school, the ''École Normale'', in Reims, Champagne, France. The term "normal" in this context refers to the goal of these institutions to instill and reinforce particular ''norms'' within students. "Norms" included historical behavioral norms of the time, as well as norms that reinforced targeted societal values, ideologies and dominant narratives in the form of curriculum.

The first public normal school in the United States was founded in Concord, Vermont by Samuel Read Hall in 1823 to train teachers. In 1839, the first state-supported normal school was established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on the northeast corner of the historic Lexington Battle Green; it evolved into Framingham State University. The first modern teacher training school in China was established by educator Sheng Xuanhuai in 1895 as the normal school of the Nanyang Public School (now Shanghai Jiao Tong University) in Shanghai during the Qing dynasty.

Many comprehensive public or state-supported universities, such as UCLA and Arizona State in the United States and Beijing Normal University in China, were established and operated as normal schools before they expanded their faculties and transformed themselves into research universities. Some of these universities, particularly in Asia, retain the word "Normal" in their name to recognize their historical purpose. In Canada, most normal schools were eventually assimilated into a university as its faculty of education, offering a one or two-year Bachelor of Education degree. Such a degree requires at least three, but usually four, years of prior undergraduate study.

Etymology

The term "normal school" originated in the early 16th century from the French ''école normale''. The French concept of an "école normale" was to provide a model school with model classrooms to teach model teaching practices to its student teachers. The children being taught, their teachers, and the teachers of the teachers were often together in the same building. Although a laboratory school, it was the official school for the children—primary or secondary.

Europe

Educating teachers was of great importance in the newly industrialized European economies which needed a reliable, reproducible and uniform work force. The process of instilling such norms within students depended upon the creation of the first uniform, formalized national educational curriculum. Thus, normal schools, as the teacher training schools, were tasked with both developing this new curriculum and developing the techniques through which teachers would instill these ideas, behaviors and values in the minds of their students.

Germany

In Germany, schools of education only exist in the state of Baden-Württemberg. These schools prepare teachers for Grundschule (primary school) and secondary schools like Hauptschule and Realschule (Mainschool and Realschool). Teachers for the Gymnasium are educated at universities.

Finland

In Finland, normal schools are under national university administration, whereas most schools are administered by the local municipality. Teacher aspirants do most of their compulsory trainee period in normal schools and teach while being supervised by a senior teacher.

France

In France, a two-tier system developed since the Revolution: primary school teachers were educated at départemental ''écoles normales'', high school teachers and university professors at the écoles normales supérieures. Nowadays all teachers are educated in (Graduate School of Teaching and Education). The écoles normales supérieures in France now mainly train researchers.

Italy

In Italy, Normal Schools now are called Liceo delle Scienze Umane.
The Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa now focus mainly on training researchers.

Lithuania

In Lithuania, Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences (LEU), former Vilnius Pedagogical University (VPU) is the main teachers' training institution, established in 1935.

Serbia

In Serbia, the first public normal school was founded in Sombor, Vojvodina, by Avram Mrazović in 1778 to train teachers.
In 2018, the Faculty of Education in Sombor celebrated 240 years since the founding of the first school for the education of Serbian teachers called ''Norma''. It was a teacher training college at the beginning called ''Norma college'' before it was closed in 1811 and another school was opened in its place in 1812 in Szentendre under the Declaratory Rescript of the Illyrian Nation. The new institution was named ''Regium Pedagogium Nationis Illiricae'' or Royal Pedagogium Of The Illyrian-Serbian Nation (also referred to in Latin as ''Preparandium'' or ''Preparadija'' in Serbian) which eventually was relocated back to Sombor in 1816. The Normal school - Teachers College is generally considered the first normal school or ''École normale'' in Sombor. The term "normal" in this case refers to "the goal of the institution to instill and reinforce particular ''norms'' within students". Also, these "''norms'' included historical behavioral norms of the time, as well as norms that reinforced targeted societal values, ideologies and dominant narratives in the form of curriculum". For the longest time, this was the only academy for teachers' training in Serbian. The first woman academician of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Isidora Sekulić, the poet Jovan Dučić, the composers Petar Konjović and Josif Marinković are just some of the ''alumni'' of ''Norma.''

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, teacher training colleges were once named as such, and were independent institutions. Following the recommendation of the 1963 '' Robbins Report'' into higher education, teacher training colleges were renamed "Colleges of Education". Later in the 20th century some became a "College of Higher Education" or an "Institute of Higher Education".. For information about academic divisions devoted to this field outside of the United States and Canada, see Postgraduate Training in Education (disambiguation).

A restructuring of higher education in the UK during the first two decades of the 21st century resulted in some establishments taking the status of "university". The University of Chester, founded by the Anglican church traces its roots back to 1839 as the earliest training college in the United Kingdom. Others were also established by religious institutions and most were single-sex until World War II. Since then, they have either become multi-discipline universities in their own right (e.g. Bishop Grosseteste University; University of Chester; Edge Hill University; St Mary's University, Twickenham; Newman University, Birmingham; Plymouth Marjon University; University of Winchester; University of Worcester; York St John University) or merged with another university to become its faculty of education (e.g. Moray House).

In Wales, there were at least three institutions which included the word "Normal" in their name: Normal School, Brecon, subsequently relocated to become Normal College Swansea (where the academic and mathematician John Viriamu Jones was educated); and Normal College, Bangor (founded 1858), which survived until 1996, when it became part of University of Wales Bangor. The latter was one of the last institutions in the UK to retain the word "Normal" in its name.

Asia

Mainland China

In Mainland China, the "normal school" terminology is still preserved in the official English names of former normal schools established in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Chinese term ''normal university'' (, abbreviated 师大; ''shīdà'') refers to a modern comprehensive university established as a normal school in the early twentieth century. These "normal universities" are usually controlled by the national or provincial government.

In 1895, Qing banking tycoon and educator Sheng Xuanhuai gained approval from the Guangxu Emperor to establish the Nanyang Public School in Shanghai, China. This comprehensive institution included the first normal school on the Chinese mainland. Since 1949, many former normal schools in China have developed into comprehensive research universities. As of 2012, Beijing Normal University and East China Normal University, both members of the national government's Project 985 program, have been ranked the top two among the mainland Chinese universities that originated as normal schools.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, the Ministry of Education runs a total of 27 Institutes of Teacher Education (ITEs), which were formerly known as Teacher Training Colleges. These ITEs function primarily to educated both undergraduate and postgraduate teacher trainees. The ministry bureau responsible for overseeing them is the Teacher Education Division. The ITEs also run in-service teacher training and continuous professional development among qualified teachers.

Philippines

In Naga City, the Philippines, one can find the oldest normal school for girls in the Far East, the Universidad de Santa Isabel. It is a sectarian school run by the Daughters of Charity. The first secular normal school was founded in 1901 by the Thomasites, the Philippine Normal School. It was converted into a college in 1949 and was elevated to its present university status in 1992 as the Philippine Normal University. In 2009, it was named National Center of Excellence for Teacher Education by virtue of Republic Act 9647. In Iloilo City, the West Visayas State University was originally established as a normal school in 1902; in 1994, it was recognized by the Philippines government as a Center for Teaching Excellence.

Taiwan

In Taiwan, three universities served as national normal universities historically. Located in Taipei, Changhua, and Kaohsiung, the schools prepared secondary school teachers; these schools' missions have expanded since to make them ''de facto'' liberal arts universities.

Ten Taiwanese normal schools (, abbreviated 師院; shīyuàn, "normal colleges") were established under Japanese rule and at the end of World War 2, serving for primary school teacher's education. These were promoted as teachers' colleges and later granted university status in 2000s. Some of these were merged with comprehensive university, such as National Hualien University of Education, which were merged with National Dong Hwa University in 2007.

Oceania

New Zealand

In New Zealand, the term ''normal school'' can refer to a primary or intermediate school used for teacher training, such as the Epsom Normal Primary School (in Auckland), Kelburn Normal School, Palmerston North Intermediate Normal School, Papakura Normal School, Central Normal School in Palmerston North or Tahuna Normal Intermediate School. They were associated with a teachers' training college, such as the Auckland College of Education and the Dunedin College of Education, which became colleges of education that trained secondary as well as primary and intermediate school teachers.

North and South America

Canada

Alberta

The Calgary Normal School in Calgary was initially located at 412 - 7 Street SW in Calgary in what is called the McDougall School founded shortly after Alberta became a province in 1905. Its history is part of the founding of the University of Calgary in 1966. Another Normal school was founded at Camrose (also called Rosehaven Normal school) in 1912. The Edmonton Normal School, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada was opened in 1920 in Edmonton, Alberta.

In 1945 all normal schools in Alberta were merged into the University of Alberta's faculty of education.

British Columbia

In 1901, the first Provincial Normal School in British Columbia was opened in Vancouver. Classes commenced on 9 January 1901. In January 1909, the Provincial Normal school moved into a new facility and its own building located at 11th and Cambie (now part of City Square Mall). In 1915 a second Provincial Normal School opened in Victoria. Trainee teachers from greater Vancouver and the lower Mainland attended the Normal School in Vancouver. Students from Vancouver Island and students outside the Lower Mainland, that is, from the Upper Fraser Valley and communities in the interior of the province – enrolled in the Normal School in Victoria. That school was originally located in Victoria High School and later in its own building which is now part of Camosun College. In 1956 the responsibility for provincial teacher training was transferred to The University of British Columbia.

Manitoba

Central Normal School was founded in 1882 in Winnipeg. In 1905-06 a new building was constructed at 442 William Avenue. It was one of six Normal Schools in Manitoba, along with Brandon Normal School (1129 Queens Street, Brandon), Dauphin, Manitou, Portage la Prairie, and St. Boniface. Central Normal School moved to a facility in southwest Winnipeg in 1947. In the autumn of 1958, it was renamed the Manitoba Teachers' College. It was moved to the University of Manitoba

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases