The Facilities and Practices of Negro Tax-Supported Teacher-Training Institutions

Abstract

This investigation concerns itself with the facilities and practices of the laboratory-school departments of taxsupported normal schools and colleges for the preparation of Negro teachers of elementary schools. Its purpose is threefold: (1) to make a survey of the present facilities and practices of these laboratory-school departments; (2) to determine the adequacy of the facilities and the effectiveness of the practices in the light of accepted standards; (3) to make proposals for the development of satisfactory facilities and practices in all cases where they are found to be below standard. The terms of this title have the following meanings throughout the discussion: facilities-all elements in the school which go to make an activity possible, such as type of buildings, number and size of rooms, number of children available for specific activities, number, training and organization of the teaching staff; practices-established procedures for the conduct of an activity; laboratory-school department-that division of the teacherpreparing institution which comprises all the activities commonly known as observation, participation, supervised student teaching, and experimental teaching; tax-supported normal schools and colleges-those schools of post-secondary grade which are supported by federal, state or municipal taxes and which prepare teachers for the public schools; schools for preparing Negro teachers-those colleges and normal schools which were organized for the specific purpose of educating Negro teachers and which are maintained specifically for that purpose. The significance of this problem arises from the following situations which one finds today: (1) the unique position of the laboratory-school department in a teacher-training program; (2) the increasing need for wellqualified Negro teachers; (3) the apparent inadequacy of laboratoryschool facilities generally found in teacher-preparing institutions for Negroes. SOURCES OF DATA AND METHODS OF TREATMENT