Abstract:

To save the nation from crisis and achieve the goal of universal education, ‘training teachers in higher normal schools’ was chosen by the late Qing Government. This model continued in the early Republic of China and later was improved by implementing ‘Zoning of Higher Normal Education’ with the establishment of six higher normal schools. Things changed soon and ‘training teachers in universities’ seemed more favored by the elites. Continuing debates emerged at both official and folk conferences. In the subsequent movement of promotion to universities, several higher normal schools were transformed to comprehensive universities. With less normal schools to supply qualified teachers, there left hidden troubles in the development of secondary education. Only Peking Higher Normal School remained its tradition of normal education, but it suffered from several tempests and was considered to be superfluous by some scholars. During the Anti-Japanese War, referring to the Zoning system, six normal colleges were established, which manifested the value of higher normal education and the Zoning system. Due to domestic trouble and foreign invasion, it was until the founding of People’s Republic of China that normal education institutions were eventually set up separately rather than affiliated to universities. The vicissitudes of ‘Zoning of Higher Normal Education’ is of some reference meaning to current training of teachers.

Key words: universal education, educational policy, Zoning of Higher Normal Education, six higher normal schools, training teachers in higher normal schools