Schools of Education

Teachers' Institutes

One of the earliest formal forms of teacher preparation is credited to Henry Barnard for the establishment of the first teacher institute, held in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1839. Other states followed suit with support from both commissioners of education and those who authorized such teacher-training institutes. Typically held during the summer months, the emphasis was on methodology, while considerable emphasis continued to focus on subject matter. In some ways, these institutes served to provide training for the vastly growing numbers of teachers that surpassed the growing number of normal schools. Historians also point out that the nature of these institutes created a forum for teachers to come together to address issue, topics and areas of concerns of their evolving profession which, in some ways, served as forerunners of teachers' organizations and the growing emphasis on in-service teacher education. However, these training institutes served mostly the basic content needs of teachers for elementary schools. A seminary for the preparation of teachers was established in Concord, Vermont, in 1823, by Reverend Samuel R. Hall.

Normal Schools

The evolving state-supported system of public education placed great demands on the need for qualified teachers and insisted on individuals trained in more than content knowledge but also in the so-called science of teaching. In the early 1800s, both private and publicly supported normal schools began to appear in a number of states. The movement toward this type of teacher training was influenced by the writings of American travelers who had written extensively and convincingly about European normal schools. Whereas prior to this development, private seminaries, high schools, academies, and teacher institutes served as places where potential teachers could receive specialized training, in many ways, they were giving over their functions and served as the forerunners for the evolving normal schools.

The first normal school was founded in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1839, due to the efforts of Horace Mann and support from the state legislature. To better meet the growing demand for qualified teachers, some cities sponsored their own local training schools for teachers, with county normal schools also being established in some states as well. By 1898, the National Education Association (NEA) reported 166 state and 165 private normal schools in operation. During the period between the establishment of state systems of public education and recovery from the Civil War, normal schools were recognized all across the nation as the place to train teachers, in particular for positions in elementary schools. Teachers for high schools were expected to get their training at the liberal arts institutions. However, the public-supported normal schools for the preparation of teachers continued to grow, and most private normal schools had disappeared by 1920. Eventually, these public institutions carried the designation “state normal school.”

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