Normal Schools

Horace Mann founded the first public normal school in 1839 in Lexington, Massachusetts, and many states quickly followed his example. Normal schools were founded to increase the quality of teaching because an educated citizenry was essential to the new republic. The need for teachers grew rapidly with the common school movement; by 1875, over 100 normal schools enrolled more than 23,000 students, and by 1900 over 300 normal schools enrolled 70,000 students. The majority of students were women. Initially, the normal school education was relatively brief, lasting 1 year, although many students left after a few weeks to take teaching positions. Each region of the country embraced the normal school mission; however, the organization, requirements, curriculum, and administration of normal schools varied by region, state, and school. As normal schools grew in size and stature, they began to focus less on teacher training and more on academic preparation, while lengthening the required course of study. As the schools' curricula diversified and programs became prolonged, they began to evolve into state teachers colleges after 1900. This evolution quickened throughout the 1920s and 1930s, creating the obsolescence of normal schools by 1940.

Three women enrolled in the first normal school in 1839, and women were an overwhelming majority of normal school students throughout the schools' existence, because the majority of teachers were women. By 1900, more than half of all women pursuing postsecondary education did so at normal schools. One reason for the popularity of normal schools was free tuition in many states, sometimes offered in exchange [Page 707]for teaching in common schools after graduation. Women from farm and other working-class families, as well as immigrants, were drawn to normal schools, because they were vehicles of upward mobility and because women were encouraged to teach after finishing common school and before marrying.

Originally, normal schools emphasized basic academic knowledge, pedagogy, management of schools, and practical experience in model schools. Normal schools ran these model schools to give teacher candidates opportunities to apply their skills. Administration of normal schools varied; they were organized, funded, and operated from the state, county, and city level. Faculty and administrators were often universityeducated former teachers and principals.

In the eastern normal schools, admission requirements and the program length gradually increased; by 1860, 2-year programs were common, and by 1900, a high school diploma began to be required for admission. Both of these changes encouraged a growing focus on academic preparation at the expense of teacher training. In western states, the focus on teacher training quickly began to shift to academic preparation because of the lack of postsecondary educational institutions and local pressure to expand educational opportunities.

The growing emphasis on academic preparation in normal schools and local desire for more diversified curricular offerings resulted in the evolution of normal schools into state teachers colleges. Following World War I, as the number of college students grew, normal schools declined, replaced by the public 4-year city and state college systems. By 1940, normal schools were obsolete.