LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

BUREAU OF EDUCATION, Washington, October 24, 1914.

SIR: The matter of the preparation of teachers for the schools of this country is of so great importance that any information which may contribute to our knowledge of the most effective ways of doing it is eagerly sought by those directly interested in the subject. The example of methods used in other countries is especially helpful. For this reason, in the summer of 1913 I detailed Charles H. Judd, professor of education in the University of Chicago, and at that time this bureau's specialist in higher education, to go to Europe and make a careful study of the education and training of teachers for the schools in England, Scotland, Germany, and some other countries. The manuscript submitted herewith is one of the results of this study. I recommend that it be published as a bulletin of the Bureau of Education.

Respectfully submitted.

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

P. P. CLAXTON,

Commissioner.

5

PREFACE.

The obligations of the writer of this report are so numerous that he despairs of being able adequately to acknowledge all of them. The way was hospitably prepared in all quarters; so that he found in England, Scotland, and Germany no difficulty in securing information of every kind and in obtaining the opportunity for personal observation wherever he sought such opportunity. One obligation incurred in Scotland is, however, of such a character that it calls for special acknowledgment. Mr. J. Malloch, director of studies of the Training College of Dundee, was kind enough to read over the pages of this report on Scotland. He offered a number of suggestions, which improved the statement and eliminated errors in the first draft. In England the vice chancellor of the University of Leeds, Dr. M. E. Sadler, contributed so much in the way of suggestion and personal introductions that the writer's visits were in very large measure guided by his kindness. Several gentlemen of the board of education were both officially and personally most helpful. The writer is under special obligation to Mr. F. Heath and Mr. A. E. Twentyman. In Germany Prof. Meumann, of Hamburg, gave indispensable advice and prepared the way for easy access to the institutions both in that city and in other States. In Berlin the gentlemen at the Amerika Institute and Herr Kullnick at the Preussische Auskunftstelle für Schulwesen greatly facilitated the preparation of material for the report. Finally, Dr. Kerschensteiner, of Munich, added one more to the list of Americans who stand under obligation to him by aiding the writer in conference and with suggestions.

CHICAGO, April 16, 1914.

6

CHARLES H. JUDD.

THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS IN ENGLAND, SCOT

LAND, AND GERMANY.

I.

THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS IN ENGLAND.

There are as many different varieties of teachers in England as there are in the United States. There is, for example, the private teacher who has no special training and has never submitted himself to a certificating test by the State. Then there is the partially qualified teacher employed by the community which can not, or will not, pay for a well-trained teacher. This ill-fitted teacher is often recognized by the State and given some credential which puts the school in which he serves on the list of institutions receiving Government grants. If a school is to receive grants, its teachers must be "recognized" by the board of education. If a school does not receive State grants, it is free to do anything which its patrons will accept and support. In England there are many private schools which do not ask for State aid and do not submit to inspection. These private foundations are not included in the statistics or reports of the board of education. The teachers in these schools may be regarded as for the most part without the special training which is encouraged, but not absolutely required, by the State in the grant-supported schools. Even in the schools inspected by the board of education and supported by its grants there is the greatest variation in the training of teachers. The following facts make it clear that special professional training is not required for appointment to teaching positions in England. Of the 9,126 full-time teachers in secondary schools which in 1912 received grants from the board of education, 5,3482 were without professional training. Of this group of untrained teachers, 2,371 were also without degrees from college or university. The total number of secondary teachers without degrees was 3,715. In the ordinary public elementary schools there were, out of 29,552

1 Statistics of Public Education in England and Wales, 1911-12 (Cd. 6934), p. 114. 2 Ibid, pp. 28 and 29.

head teachers, 12,346 not trained. Out of a total of 97,104 certificated staff teachers, 41,607 were not professionally trained. In addition, there were employed in the schools 39,125 uncertificated teachers and 12,249 supplementary teachers. This does not include part-time

teachers.

The foregoing figures make it evident that the description of the English system of training of teachers must be recognized as covering only a part of the facts with regard to the teaching profession as that profession is actually constituted. The gravity of the situation is further indicated by the fact, which is repeatedly discussed in the official reports, that there is at the present time a marked undersupply of candidates for teaching positions, and that the number of students who are entering upon training is so small as to arouse serious apprehension regarding the future of the teaching profession.1

The training and certification of teachers is recognized as the function of the board of education, which has authority over the school affairs of all England. The board of education performs its work, however, through various local agencies. Thus there are training colleges for teachers, some of which were established by the churches, some by municipalities, and some by endowment from individual sources. Such training colleges are adopted by the board, and through grants to students and grants for buildings the board helps in their maintenance. Again, local educational authorities provide in secondary schools and in local training centers facilities for the education of designated students who are preparing for entrance upon the teaching profession. All these types of encouragement to students to become teachers are supervised and subsidized by the board, the board requiring in return conformity to its general principles of organization of the courses. The result of this method of procedure is great variation in the actual preparation of candidates for the profession, and a persistence of the traditional practices that have grown out of the older local methods. The present situation can perhaps be best explained by reviewing briefly the history of the training of elementary teachers in England.

The material for this historical statement is presented in a publication issued by the board of education, entitled “General Report on the Instruction and Training of Pupil-Teachers, 1903–1907, with Historical Introduction."

In the period 1839-40 the pupil-teacher system was developed in England through the activities of Dr. Kay, the first secretary of the committees of the council. Prior to the activities of Dr. Kay, the monitorial system, which had been developed by Bell and Lancaster,

Report of the Board of Education, 1911-12 (Cd. 6707), p. 108 et seq.