Territorial Normal and Training School, 1895-1931: An institutional history of public teacher education in Hawai

Histories of public education abound in the United States, yet histories of public teacher education, the normal schools, are noticeably lacking. Likewise many have investigated Hawaii's public school system yet a comprehensive study of public teacher education has been neglected. It was the purpose of this study to fill this void in Hawaii's educational history by rediscovering the only institution of public teacher education that existed in Hawaii from 1895-1931, the Government Normal School, later the Territorial Normal and Training School.;This study was designed as an institutional history to record and interpret the relationships between the Territorial Normal and Training School and the governments of the Republic and Territory of Hawaii. The chronological approach has been used to trace the creation of the school, the changes that occurred through three administrations, and finally the amalgamation of the Territorial Normal and Training School with the University of Hawaii. Primary sources, such as, letters, minutes of the Board of Education Meetings, University of Hawaii Regents meeting minutes, and other documents maintained at the Hawaii State archives and the University of Hawaii Archives plus pertinent newspaper articles were basic reference materials used.;Several specific conclusions were reached. The Territorial Normal and Training School was used by the oligarchy of Hawaii to initiate the tutelage of the new American citizens of Hawaii, but continued to maintain the early stages of Americanization in order to maintain the economic, social and political status quo of Hawaii's elite. Those who sought change in Hawaii followed mainland trends and worked within the existing institutions to bring about a more democratic society. The reformers focused their energies on the only teacher institution in Hawaii, the Territorial Normal and Training School. Through changes at the normal school, they hoped to provide Hawaii's public elementary schools with teachers who would promote the knowledge, behaviors,and attitudes deemed necessary to transform the Territory of Hawaii into a more democratic community.;To use history as history, it is recommended that modern-day teacher education reformers reinvestigate the normal school in order to reclaim the many contributions the normal school can make to today's teacher education programs, policies, and practices.