The development of the city normal schools in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio: 1874-1936

This study, an historical analysis of the city normal training schools of Akron and Cleveland, Ohio, documented the establishment and growth of both city normals. For the city of Cleveland, 1874-1936, this involved the documentation of the early history of the Cleveland schools, those factors which influenced the establishment of the city normal school, those public school officials and board members who were involved in the development of the city normal school as well as the University officials who later became involved when the Cleveland Normal School became a part of Western Reserve University. The partnership between the Cleveland Board of Education and Western Reserve University eventually dissolved, the events as well as the individuals most closely connected with the dissolution were analyzed within the narrative.; The normal school of the Akron public school system, Perkins Normal, was discussed but in a more limited fashion as compared to the Cleveland Normal School, due to a lack of primary source material. The narrative of Perkins Normal included, like Cleveland, an analysis of coursework, admission requirements, training experience, and any changes made in the teacher training program throughout its existence. Also documented were those persons most closely associated with the development of Perkins Normal School--board members and school officials--as well as university officials who became involved when Perkins Normal School merged its teacher training program into the Municipal University of Akron. The last section of the history of Perkins Normal School contained the demise of the combined teacher training program between the Akron school board and the Municipal University of Akron.; This study not only documented the development of teacher training in two nineteenth-century Ohio urban centers, but also related the histories of Akron and Cleveland public schools officials as they struggled to provide properly trained teachers to staff their city schools. Included in the analysis was the later transition to university training as both city normal schools merged with their respective university affiliate establishing joint teacher training programs and the eventual dissolution of relations between the two educational institutions.