L'Ecole normale primaire de Rennes et la première génération de normaliens en Bretagne (1831-1852)
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Abstract EN:
The Ecole normale in Rennes was founded in 1831. At first representing three departments, it was expanded in 1839 to receive students forms the entire province of Brittany, following, the collapse of the schools in Saint-Brieuc and Nantes. Between 1831 and 1852, 1108 future teachers were recruited through testing, often with great difficulty. The Breton students came principally from the coastal region and the towns. Trained in their discipline and in pedagogical methods in two-year residential program, they lived a highly rigorous and religious life. Graduates were confronted by material and financial difficulties, as well as competition from catholic schools, and a high percentage eventually dropped out of teaching. In 1852, Normale school graduates were present in only 32,6% of Breton communes. They were characterized by their longevity and lack of professional mobility, participating in the lasting establishment of secular public education in Brittany. The period from 1850 to 1851 marked a turning point. In 1861 they demanded higher psy and better treatment. Far from schieving any true status in their communes, they were nonetheless conscious of belonging to the "aristocracy" of secular teachers.
Abstract FR:
L'Ecole normale de Rennes est fondée en 1831. D'abord interdépartementale, elle devient académique en 1839, après l'échec des écoles de Saint-Brieuc et de Nantes. Entre 1831 et 1852, 1108 élèves-maîtres sont recrutés par concours, souvent avec difficulté. Les normaliens bretons viennent surtout de l'Armor et des villes. Instruits et formés en internat pendant deux ans, ils sont soumis à un régime sévère et imprégnés de religion. Confrontes à des obstacles matériels, financiers, ainsi qu’à la concurrence des frères, leur installation s'accompagne d'une désertion importante et durable. En 1852, les normaliens ne sont présents que dans 32,6% des communes bretonnes. Ils se distinguent par leur longévité et leur faible mobilité professionnelles, participant à l'implantation durable de l'école laïque en bretagne. La période 1850-51 marque, pour eux, une rupture, en 1861, ils expriment leur aspiration à la considération. Loin de la notabilité, ils ont pourtant conscience d'appartenir à "l'aristocratie" des instituteurs laïques.