The records of the Department of Education, 1909(1958-78)-1979, mainly document the department's administrative activities during its final twenty years of operation, especially its training and evaluation of student-teachers.  Records dating from the period prior to 1958 include one foot of correspondence files (1909-14) of Edward A. Miller (1866-1958), Professor and Head of the Department of Pedagogy (1903-07) and the first to hold the title Professor of Education (1907-31).  These files introduce the issues of teacher training and state certification requirements, providing a historical context for later materials. Other records predating 1958 include student-teacher evaluations prepared for Kindergarten-Primary majors (1933-63).  These documents cover the period from the Oberlin Kindergarten-Primary Training School's merger with the Department of Education (1932) to the discontinuation of the Kindergarten-Primary major (1965).  They are written largely by Professor J. Marie Rankin and offer a glimpse of primary pedagogy in the classroom over a thirty-year period.

The records, which consist of correspondence, minutes, annual reports, budgetary ledgers, printed materials, educational testing kits, and tape recordings, are divided into three subgroups:  I. Administrative Files of the Department of Education, 1909-14, 1959-79; II. Teacher Education Files, 1933-78; and III. Professional Organizations, 1959-77.  Within subgroups, the papers are subdivided into series alphabetically arranged to reflect internal hierarchies; thereunder, papers are arranged alphabetically or chronologically.

Two-thirds of the collection consists of Subgroup II,Teacher-Education Files.  Series 1 includes the administrative files (1958-78) of the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) program.  Filed here is the Teacher Education Committee's 1958 recommendation to establish a M.A.T. program at Oberlin, as well as correspondence with the Ford Foundation, whose 1960 grant of 190,000 dollars made possible the program's first six years of operation.  Other files include annual reports, minutes, budgetary records, and curriculum information.  A more comprehensive record of M.A.T. program administrative history is available in the papers of former Professor of Education, Ira S. Steinberg (30/111). 

The bulk of Subgroup II is comprised of two series:Series 2, Student Records (1954-55, 1961-75), which contains M.A.T. student dossiers (1961-75), and Series 3, Student-Teaching Records (1933-78). The files of Series 3 document the instruction, evaluation, supervision, and certification of both undergraduate and M.A.T. student-teachers.  Extensive correspondence with nearby school districts concerns student-teacher placement, school collaboration with the M.A.T. program in general, and Project 419, a special state-funded program to improve curriculum in the Lorain Public Schools.  Two identical educational kits (1937) may have been used by student-teachers majoring in Kindergarten-Primary pedagogy or by majors in Child Development.  Files also include materials relating to the state's evaluation of Oberlin's program of teacher education.  A fuller account of the process of state evaluation is provided by the papers of Professor Ira S. Steinberg (30/111).  These records include correspondence which illuminates the relationship between Oberlin and the State Department of Education during the 1970s.

Files documenting the administrative history of the Department of Education are housed in Subgroup I, Administrative Files of the Department of Education, 1909-14, 1959-79.  In addition to the early correspondence previously described, these files include significant administrative correspondence between faculty members relating to department business; with other departments and administrative offices; with students, regarding placement and academic progress; and with outside individuals and institutions.  Key correspondents include Professors of Education and department chairmen Frank Laycock (1962-78) and Ira S. Steinberg (1961-78), and Assistant Professors Andreas Kazamias (1957-61), Charles Rathbone (1969-72) and Booker Peek (1971-78).  Other administrative records are extremely sparse.  Minutes of departmental meetings exist only for the years 1963-68 and 1969-73.  One set of minutes only exists for years 1963-67.  Additional minutes may be consulted in the papers of Ira S. Steinberg, but in general, minutes have not survived in quantity.  Budgetary records are equally thin, with ledgers for the period 1962-68 showing department expenses, and a small group of miscellaneous papers relating to budget allocations in 1963 and 1973. 

Subgroup III includes the files of national, state, and regional educational organizations with which the Department of Education staff was affiliated.  Files document conference planning and meeting arrangements.  The majority of the files relate to state organizations such as the Ohio Association of Private Colleges for Teacher Education.

Subgroup I.  Administrative Files of the Department of Education,

            1909-14, 1959-79  4.4 l.f.

            Records consist almost exclusively of administrative correspondence created and received by Department of Education staff in the course of conducting daily business.  Records are divided into five series: 1. Early Correspondence, 2. General Correspondence, 3. Inter-Office Correspondence, 4. Minutes of Department Meetings, and 5. Budgetary Records.

            Series 1.  Early Correspondence, 1909-14  .8 l.f.

            Series 1 consists of professional correspondence from the files of Edward A. Miller (1866-1958), Professor of Pedagogy, 1903-07, Professor of Education, 1907-31, and Dean of Men, 1903-14.  Key correspondents include Horace L. Brittain of the Ohio State School Survey Commission (1874-?)and Oberlin President Henry Churchill King (1858-1934).  Correspondence is arranged chronologically and thereunder alphabetically; additional correspondence is filed alphabetically by subject.  Topics treated include referrals for those seeking teaching positions; the beginning of practice teaching at Oberlin; disciplinary and other student matters; and the Kyrias Girls School of Kortcha, Albania (Miller was treasurer of the school's Board of Trustees).

            Series 2.  General Correspondence, 1958-79  1.4 l.f.

            Consists of correspondence alphabetically arranged, dating from two time periods (1958-69 and 1970-79), that is combined into a single series.  Files include both incoming correspondence and  file copies of outgoing correspondence.  Correspondents include Frank Laycock, Andreas M. Kazamias, and Ira S. Steinberg.Faculty correspondence is mainly devoted to student academic progress.

            Series 3.  Inter-Office Correspondence, 1959-79  2 l.f.

            Correspondence is divided into the following subseries:1. Education Department Correspondence, 2. Correspondence with Academic Departments and Faculty Committees, and 3. Correspondence with Administrative Offices.  Education Department Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by faculty member and includes several files on faculty recruitment.  Correspondence with Academic Departments and Faculty Committees includes reviews of the department by the Educational Plans and Policies Committee.  Correspondence with Administrative Offices is alphabetically arranged by office; it is preceded by correspondence with the offices of the President, Provost, and Deans of the College of Arts and Science.

            Series 4.  Minutes of Departmental Meetings, 1960-67, 1969-73  .1 l.f.

            Consists of minutes chronologically arranged.  Files are incomplete.

            Series 5.  Budgetary Records, 1963-68, 1973, 1979  .1 l.f.

            Includes three ledgers showing departmental expenses and a file of 1963 and 1973-74 budgetary allowances.  Records are alphabetically arranged by type of material.

Subgroup II.  Teacher Education Files, 1933-78  12.8 l.f.

            Records document the teacher-training programs administered by the Department of Education and are divided into five series:1.  M.A.T. Program Administrative Files, 2. Student Records, 3. Student-Teaching Records, 4. State Certification Files, and5. State Evaluation Visits.

            Series 1.  M.A.T. Program Administrative Files, 1958-78  2.4 l.f.

            Includes annual reports submitted by the Department Chairman to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; minutes of the M.A.T. Board of Advisors and Faculty Committee; budgetary records, course requirements, files on student recruitment, and textbook orders.  Files are alphabetically arranged by type of material.               

            Series 2.  Student Records, 1954-55, 1961-75  4.8 l.f.

            Includes applications from those intending to major in Kindergarten-Primary education as well as files of students who were admitted to the M.A.T. program but withdrew prior toenrolling.  The bulk of the series consists of dossiers of M.A.T. graduates and non-graduates arranged by year and thereunder alphabetically.  These dossiers include undergraduate transcripts, applications for admissions, and correspondence with the department.

            Series 3.  Student-Teaching Records, 1933-78  4.4 l.f.

            Records are divided into three subseries:  1.  Evaluations of student-teachers, 2. Kits for Educational Testing, and 3. Participant School Files.  Kindergarten-Primary evaluations are written by Professors J. Marie Rankin (1896-) and Mary Yocom (1894-1968).  Other evaluations are for undergraduate studentteachers in secondary schools and M.A.T. intern teachers.  Identical educational testing kits are boxed separately.  Participant School Files, alphabetically arranged by school district, include correspondence relating to student-teacher placement and performance.

            Series 4.  State Certification Files, 1950-79  .6 l.f.

            Includes correspondence chronologically arranged between the State Department of Education and faculty members regarding teacher certification procedures.  Correspondents include Paul W. Hailey, Director of Teacher Education and Certification for Ohio, Frank Laycock, and Ira S. Steinberg.  Records include reports prepared by Ira Steinberg for the state's review.  Files are alphabetically arranged by type of material.

            Series 5.  State Evaluation Visits, 1972-87  .6 l.f.

            Consists of records created by the Department of Education in preparation for, during, and in the aftermath of visits to the college by the State team evaluating teacher education at Oberlin.  Includes two reel-to-reel recordings, separately housed, of the March 1977 evaluation visit and related documentation.  Also filed here are two reports prepared by the Conservatory of Music's Department of Music Education in compliance with state requirements.

Subgroup III.  Professional Organizations, 1956-77  1.2 l.f.

            Records are divided into two series:  1. National Organizations, and 2. State and Regional Organizations.  These files include printed materials and correspondence relating to various organizations with which Department of Education staff were affiliated.

            Series 1. National Organizations, 1959-75  .4 l.f.

            Records are alphabetically arranged by organization and include files for such groups as the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the National EducationAssociation.

            Series 2. State and Regional Organizations, 1956-77  .8 l.f.

            State and regional organization records are interfiled and alphabetically arranged.  Numerous files exist for the OhioTeacher Education Redesign Project and the regional body of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

The papers of the Department of Education were transferred to the College archives in three accessions in 1967, 1977, and 1980.  Materials arriving in 1980 were received from Ira S. Steinberg.

For supplemental material on the Department of Education, the researcher is advised to consult the papers of Professor of Education (1961-78) Ira S. Steinberg, Record Group 30/111.  For the records of the Oberlin Kindergarten-Primary Training School, consult Record Group 24.  For additional correspondence relating to the Kyrias Girls School in Albania, consult the records of the Graduate School of Theology, Record Group 11.