The training of teachers in the United States of America

In the early 1890s a group of five experienced women teachers was sent from England to the United States to study secondary schools for girls and the emerging institutions that prepared teachers. Their journey, funded by a charitable trust, took them to a wide range of colleges and normal schools across the Northeast and Midwest. The reports they produced offer a snapshot of American educational experiment at a pivotal moment in history.

Listeners will hear detailed observations of state normal schools, where academic subjects, laboratory work, and manual training were woven into a rigorous teacher‑training curriculum. The authors describe teaching methods such as the “recitation” technique, the role of model schools, and the balance between co‑education and single‑sex environments. Their accounts also examine examinations, graduation standards, and the modest pipeline from normal schools into secondary teaching positions.

The narrative combines vivid travel notes with systematic analysis, making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in the foundations of modern teacher education and the transatlantic exchange of ideas that shaped it.