The Edmonton Normal School was an institution that trained primary and secondary school
teachers
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
in
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
from 1920 to 1945, with two interruptions.
The normal school in Edmonton was Alberta's third. Alberta's first
normal school
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...
was opened
in Calgary in 1906, just after the province was created, and the second was opened in 1912
in Camrose.
By 1919 the province hoped to expand teacher education by adding a third school in Edmonton. The new Edmonton Normal School subsequently opened in 1920 and used
Highlands School as its home until a new facility was acquired in 1921. However, by 1923 the institution was forced to close due to lack of funds.

In 1928 it reopened in the premises of the new
King Edward School, and in 1930 the school moved into a new purpose-built facility on the grounds of the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Ruth ...
, now known as
Corbett Hall Corbett may refer to:
* List of Corbetts (mountains), 222 mountains in Scotland between , with prominence over
* Corbett, Oregon, a community in the United States
* Corbett Award, US award for athletics administrators
* Corbett (surname), people w ...
. The
Great Depression, and the subsequent crisis in public finances, again disrupted the school, and it was closed from 1933 to 1935. From 1941 to 1945 the school shared the south wing of Corbett Hall with the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environ ...
as part of the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Z ...
. This was the location of No. 4 Initial Training School.
[
]
In 1945 all normal schools in Alberta were merged into the University of Alberta's Faculty of Education.
The faculty subsequently used Corbett Hall until 1962, before moving to the current Education Building. Corbett Hall has been used by several other faculties since that time.
References
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Teachers colleges in Canada
Educational institutions established in 1920
Educational institutions disestablished in 1945
Universities and colleges in Edmonton
Defunct universities and colleges in Canada
University of Alberta
1920 establishments in Alberta