Research On The Teacher Group Of National Northwest Normal University (1939-1949)

The National Northwest Normal University was established in the northwest region during the period of Counter-Japanese War.Its predecessor was the National Peiping Normal University,which was developed on the basis of the Normal Museum of the Imperial University of Peking.After the outbreak of the Counter-Japanese War,a large number of universities were forced to move westward in order to preserve China’s educational kindling.After experiencing the educational process of Xi’an and Chenggu,the National Northwest Normal University finally settled in Lanzhou.A group of well-known scholars have successively moved to Lanzhou with the university.Their arrival has laid a good foundation for the construction and development of the National Northwest Normal University.They also made important contributions to promoting the development and construction of the northwest region.As the nucleus of school education and teaching,the teacher community was an important force that couldn’t be ignored in the process of school development.From1939 to 1949,the education status of the teachers in the National Northwest Normal University was generally good.Most of them graduated from well-known universities in China,such as Peiping Normal University,Yanjing University,and Northwest University.Some teachers,such as Li Zheng,Yuan Dunli,Zhang Shunqin,Li Jianxun,and Fang Yongzheng had studied in Japan,Europe,and the United States to obtain a master’s degree.The age structure of the teacher group in the National Northwest Normal University was dominated by young adults aged 30-50.In terms of gender ratio,male teachers were significantly more than female teachers.They came from more than20 different regions and provinces including Hebei,Shandong,Shaanxi,Jiangsu,Zhejiang,and so on.In daily education and teaching,the teachers of the National Northwest Normal University adhered to the school’s educational philosophy of“Cultivating educational talents and researching advanced learning.” They actively engaged in various teaching and management tasks such as classroom teaching,writing handouts,thesis guidance,and student training.In addition to the education and teaching work,academic research was another important responsibility of the teacher community of the National Northwest Normal University.Teachers actively carried out various academic research work by using the Teachers’ Research Institute of the school and the Academic Quarterly as platforms.Teachers of various departments have successively published numerous academic works on education,literature,history,botany,which has had a certain impact in the domestic academic community.The living conditions of the teachers in the National Northwest Normal University were relatively hard.Their clothing,food,housing and transportation were simple and unadorned.However,the teachers were still able to “Use the spirit of surplus to make up for the material shortage.” The forms of cultural and recreational activities for teachers and students were relatively diverse and rich in content.From the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression to the founding of the People’s Republic of China.Although the teachers of the National Northwest Normal University lived in poverty and were extremely short of teaching and scientific research materials,they still rooted in the northwest and quietly worked on teaching and scientific research positions.They were the leaders of China’s higher normal education,pioneers of northwest normal education and brilliant practitioners of moral education.