| In the absence of a formal, standardized program of teacher education, how did the religious communities of women who staffed American Catholic parochial schools prepare to teach in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries? In the Catholic teacher education periodicals that also began at that time, what ideas were offered on professional teacher education? And how does the practice of teacher education compare to its literature, or in other words, what are the foundations of professional Catholic parochial teacher education?;The practice of teacher education is investigated through both oral history and archival records of sisters who taught in Homestead, Pennsylvania, 1888-1920, particularly in the multi-ethnic St. Mary Magdalene's School and in the Slovak St. Michael's School. Before standardized normal schooling began in 1921, such practice embodied the aim, curriculum, organization, and method of professional teacher education.;The literature of teacher education is surveyed through three national periodicals that began around the turn of the century. One was "practical" help for teachers in the classroom, and the other two attempted to organize and systematize the national Catholic parochial school system begun by the American bishops' 1884 decree. Together these three produce a view of professional teacher education from literature.;Finally, the aim, curriculum, organization, and method of practice and the literature are compared to determine foundational elements of Catholic teacher education. In sum, the study analyzes social, cultural, and ecclesiastical influences on teacher education a century ago, to help encourage appropriate education policy today. |
