A History of the Training of Teachers in Scotland. INSTITUTION Scottish Council for Research in Education
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 104 864 SP 009 102 AUTHOR Cruickshank, Marjorie TITLE A History of the Training of Teachers in Scotland. INSTITUTION Scottish Council for Research in Education. PUB DATE 70 NOTE 278p, AVAILABLE FROMUniversity of London Press Ltd., St. Paul's House, Warick Lane, London EC4 (2 pounds, 50 pence) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.76 HC Not Available from EDRS..PLUS POSTAGE DESCRIPTORS Education; *Educational History; Higher Education; *Teacher Education; *Teacher Education Curriculum IDENTIFIERS *Scotland ABSTRACT This document describes the historical evolution of teacher training in Scotland from the 19th century to the present. It traces the origin of the early normal schools, which were byproducts of the factor/ age, their subsequent development as church institutions, and their transformation into multipurpose colleges at the beginning of the present century,. Later sections show how teacher education has changed and is still changing in response to school needs. Chapters include the following:(a) "The Scottish Tradition of Education;" (b) "The Pioneers of Teacher Training;" (c) "State control, 1841-1872;" (d) "Response to Challenge, 187:-1900;" (e) "The New Pattern of Teacher Training, 1900-1921;" (f)"The Inter-War Period;" and (g) "Expansion and Reorganization since 1945." Extensive appendixes are included on the following topics:(a) education legislation,(b) leading officials connected with teacher training, (c) short biographies of George Combe and John Kerr,(d) teacher salaries and school statistics, and (e) examples of university courses in education. (JS) 4' A HISTORY OF THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS IN SCOTLAND MARJORIE CRUICKSHANK PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS COPYRIGHTED MATERI BY MIC 0, E U S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. HA ' EN TED )/ EDUCATION A WELFARE A A . NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION /TO THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERAT REPRO ING UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE NA DuCE0 EXACTLY AS RECEIVEDFROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION TIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION ORIGIN FURTHER REPRODUCTIDN OUTSIDE ATING IT POIN rs OF VIEW OROPINIONS s-ATED DO NOT NECESSARILY THE ERIC SYSTEM REQUIRES PERMIS REPRE SKIN OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTEOF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY \)\.,UNIVERSITY OF LONDON PRESS LTD - 4 ISBN 0 340 11752 4 Copyright © 1970 The Scottish Council for Research in Education, 46 Moray Place, Edinburgh All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, eiectronic nr mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. University of London Press Ltd St Paul's House, Warwick Lane, London EC4 Printed and bound in Great Britain by T and A Constable Ltd, Edinburgh CONTENTS PAGE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION 9 CHAPTER 1 The Scottish Tradition of Education 13 2 The Pioneers of Teacher Training 26 3 State Control, 1841-1872 51 4 Response to Challenge, 1872-1900 85 5The New Pattern of Teacher Training, 1900-1921 126 6 The Inter-War Period 160 7Expansion and Reorganisation since 1945 186 8 Conclusion 214 APPENDICES A Education legislation, etc 218 B Heads of institutions and leading officials connected with teacher training, 1835 to the present day 221 C Short biographies: George Combe and John Kerr 229 D Salaries of Scottish school teachers, statistics for schools, teachers and teachers in training 234 E Early examples of timetables, duties, etc 238 F Examples of early university courses in education 246 G Examples of inter-war courses and ofcommon examination papers 251 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 258 INDEX 267 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study was writtenat the invitation of the Scottish Council for Research in Education.I wish to thank the Director and his staff for their help and advice.I am appreciative of the assist- ance of the Secretary, Miss J v1 Gray, particularly during the final stages of preparation.I have been greatly aided by the bibliographical lists on the history of Scottish educationprepared by Dr James Craigie, Vice-Presidentof the Council. I am grateful to the Principal of Jordanhill College ofEduca- tion, Sir Henry Wood, who gaveme facilities to undertake the work when I was a member of the college staff.I was fortunate in being able to consult him duringmy research and, later, in having his comments onmy script. I owe a great deal to Dr R R Rusk whowrote in 1928 the first history of the training of teachers inScotland, and wr ) has eased my path by hisnumerous kindnesses. At all stages, 1 have drawn deeply on his knowledge and profited fromhis wisdom. My work has taken me tomany libraries and brought me into contact with many people.I am grateful to those who have given meac.;ess to materials in their possession, and, inparticular, to Mr G D Gray, Registrar of the General Teaching Council for Scotland, and to the Principals of the Collegesof Education. Among those whose advice I have sought I should liketo thank particularly Dr W B Inglis, formerly Principal of MorayHouse, Miss E M Rennie, Principal of Craigie College, DrNan Shepherd, formerly on the staff of Aberdeen College,and Miss E G Malloch, Principal of Madeley College,near Crewe. Dr Inglis has placed me further in his debt byreading my script. I am grateful to Professor A C F Beales, Editor ofThe British Journal of Educational Studies, for permissionto reproduce part of my article, "David Stow, Scottish Pioneerof Teacher Training in Britain", vol XIV,no 2, May 1966. My especial thanks are due tomy husband, who has sustained me through all difficulties and has been my mostcogent critic. University of Keele July 1969 7 5 INTRODUCTION "Every reform in education centres round the teachers and every advance depends almost solely upon their intelligence, character and skill." Alexander Morgan 1 Ideally, teachers should be like poets and painters, born not made. The natural production rate, however, does not permit their supply to be left to chance. Almost a century and a half ago, one of the pioneers of Scottish teacher training, David Stow, estimated that only one in fifty of his students hada natural genius for teaching, but that at the end of a course of training there were only five out of fifty who could not teach efficiently. It could be claimed that teacher education goes back to the medieval universities, when the Master's degree was a certifi- cate of admission to the guild of professional teachers.Indeed, the arts degree in Scotland was long associated with teaching, and the parish dominie was respected for his scholarship. Long before the Reformation, education had been a means of escape from the natural poverty of the land, and many Scotsmen were to be found among the wandering scholars and teachers of Europe. The Reformation gave a great stimulus to learning. For centuries, education drew strength from a strong religious tradition and from a keen popular interest in the nation's schools. In a stable rural society the schoolmaster ranked next to the minister, and parents and dominie alike took great pride in the "lad o' pairts". Teacher training in Scotland came as a by-product of the factory age. The needs of the spawning child-population of the streets roused a spirit of missionary zeal.Pioneer Sunday schools in the slums of Edinburgh and Glasgow gave rise to day schools, each geared to a distinctive method of teaching. Day schools in turn expanded into "model" schools for student observers and suEsequentIg into full-scale training seminaries. I Rise and Progress of Scottish Education. Oliver and Boyd, 1927, p 212, 9 10 TEACHER TRAINING IN SCOTLAND Even in its infancy the Scottishmovement derived strength from the study of Continental practice and, during thelatter years of the nineteenth century it was, in its quest for a science of education, draw nmore to ads the European than the English pattern. Today the two systems of teacher training in Britain remain distinct.In both England and Scotland, teadier training ispart of a national system of education.The transient visitor to Scotlind has to be reminded that,'. itha school population of almost a million, the northern kingdom formsan administrative unit comparable in size with one of the Scandinavian countries. He may nevertheless regardw ith whimsical interest div ergzncies which impede the two-way traffic of students and teachers between north and south Britain.' The native-born English- man or Scot who domiciles himself out,. the border, however, is soon conscious of the deeper differences revealed in organisa- tion, atmosphere and personal relationships.Today both systems face many similar challenges, yet each has its own particular problems. Even amid thesurge of mass communica- tions and the trend towards uniformity, current practice in the two countries reflects the vitality of different culture patterns. Salient features of the Scottish system can only beappre- ciated against the canvas of the past.Firstly, the secular control of the colleges (apart from the two smaller Roman Catholic colleges) corresponds to the simplicity of the "Scottish solution" to the problem of denominational schools.Secondly, the emphasis on intellectual standards and universal qualification stems, on the one hand, from the traditional respect for learning and, on the other, from the native belief in the professional, the trained expert.Thirdly, the pre-eminence of the comprehen- sive, co-educational day college, is a consequence of the need of early industrial society to mass-produce teachersas cheaply as possible. In the past, Scottish education was held in high regard for its ' Fewer than 1% of home students in colleges of education in Scotland came (in 1962-3) from England and Wales and fewer than 1% of home students in colleges in England and Wales came from Scotland.(The Robbins Report, Appendix 2 (B), Cmnd 2154 II-I, 69.) There issome move- ment of teachers, though the migration of English teachers ,s discouraged by the fact that certain English qualifications are not recognised by the Scottish authorities.