Research On James Russell’s College Governance Practice

James Earl Russell(1864-1945)was the dean of the Teachers College of Columbia University from 1898 to 1927,and he was a famous American educator in the early 20 th century.Under the leadership of Russell,the Teachers’ College has rapidly developed into a famous graduate school of education in the United States.Russell lived in a period of great changes in American society,politics,economy and life.People are more and more aware of the importance of education and urgently need a large number of professionally trained teachers.Russell’s early study and work experience prompted him to broaden his educational horizons and explore ways and means of teachers’ professional training.Based on his own understanding of education and the background of the times,Russell put forward the idea of building a professional education training model and reforming basic education,laying a foundation for the management of teachers’ colleges.After Russell became the dean,he managed the Teachers College effectively from five aspects: organizational mechanism,college management,teaching staff,personnel training and scientific research.In terms of organizational mechanism,he reorganized the original teachers’ college several times in an orderly way,and finally formed a model consisting of two parts: the education college and the practical art college.In the management of the college,he set up a standing committee to be responsible for the administrative affairs of the teachers’ college,and adopted the method of convening a teachers’ meeting to make resolutions on the work of the college.In terms of teaching staff,Dean Russell,in combination with the needs of college development,sought talents who could shoulder a heavy responsibility all over the country.From Paul Monroe,Thorndike to Dewey,and then to various elites,a strong teaching staff was formed.In terms of personnel training,Russell raised the admission standard of teachers’ college,adjusted the diploma and curriculum,and gradually developed postgraduate education.In scientific research,Russell constantly improved the infrastructure construction of scientific research platforms and built various forms of scientific research platforms.Russell not only promoted the transformation of teachers’ college from normal school to graduate school of education,but also built a high-level academic team and produced a lot of cutting-edge scientific research results.In addition,many students trained by teachers’ college have become future educational leaders in the United States and many countries in the world,which has promoted the development of education in the United States and the world.