The Rural Normal Education Movement Of The Nanjing National Government (1927-1937)

The rural normal education movement of the Nanjing National Government, sprouting from the early 20th century, developing qucikly in the late 1920s and in 1930s reaching its peak, declining in the 1940s, last for more than 30 years until Nanjing National Government withdrawing from the Chinese mainland in 1949. Under the rural educationalist's sparkplug and the promotion of the edcution policies of KMT, it was an organized and purposive normal education reform that the purpose is to train rural primary school teachers and transform rural education and rural society.In the early 20th century, there are two reasons to explain the rise of rural normal education: the one is social factors including the rapid development of rural education of the world, rural education dilapidated and the downfall of the rural normal education. Trained teachers are mainly supplied for the cities and the rise of rural construction movement leads to the lack of rural teachers. The other reason is political factors, including the implement of compulsory education and the enhance of the control over the rural areas of Nanjing National Government.Therefore, the rural teacher education movement became a historical necessity.In the 1920s, educators began to pay attention to rural teacher education, and participate actively in organizating rural normal school. Nanjing National Government formulated a series of relevant education policies and played an important role in the entire process. The publishment of the data about the rural teacher education is to support this movement. The establishment of rural education department in the universities were an important prerequisite. In 1923 the instauration of the five rural schools by Jiangsu Provincial Normal school became the germination of the rural teacher education movement. After Xiao Zhuang Rural Normal School was established in 1927, the reform of rural teacher education began. She not only established the school spirit of rural Normal School but also influenced on the rural education policies of Nanjing National Government. There were 327 rural normal school founded one by one in 17 provinces from 1927 to 1937. These schools can be divided into three categories according to the spirit of running school: the reformed, improved and scholastic rural normal education.The main base of rural teacher education movement was the rural normal schools. Three kinds of rural normal schools had their different characteristics in the curriculum, the textbook,administrative organizations, teachers, students, funding for education and social activities. But on the whole, they reflect the characteristics of rural teacher education to some extent. By comparing with ordinary teacher education in the aims of education, curriculum, teaching methods, teacher qualifications and employment of graduates and so on, we can see that the intent of rural teacher education was to meet the needs of rural education and training primary school teachers. The characteristics of the movement mainly embodied in the three aspects such as clear purposiveness, extensiveness and organization to some extent.Rural teacher education movement complied with the general trend of the educational development in the world, which is the native process of Chinese education. She influenced on rural education, rural society and promoted the reform and innovation of the concept of education in Republican china. However, due to the domestic trouble and foreign invasion, the rural normal school was still very inadequate. There are many limitations, such as regional imbalance on development, unrealistic policies, lack of teachers and difficulty to build schools, which failed to completely alter the backward state of rural education. Outlining and evaluating the rural teacher education movement correctly will be vail today's education reform, teacher education and the development of education in rural areas. Useful experience and lessons from the rural normal educational movement will furnish reference for building socialist new countryside.