This article focuses on the role of the Musul Darülmuallimîn (Teacher Training School) in shaping the teacher cadres assigned to provincial rüşdiye schools in the late Ottoman Empire. In doing so, it pays particular attention to the structure of the school’s teaching staff and administrative personnel. The teaching profession in the Ottoman context originally grew out of the madrasa tradition. However, as modern schools spread across the empire, the shortage of qualified teachers became more apparent and Darülmuallimîn schools were set up in an attempt to remedy this problem. The idea of opening a Darülmuallimîn in Musul emerged in 1884 (H.1302), and the institution began operating around 1887–1888 (H.1305). Drawing on archival documents from the Ottoman Ministry of Education and provincial authorities (MF.MKT., MF.İBT., İ.DH., DH.UMVM., ŞD, etc.) as well as summary registers, the study analyses in detail the positions of head teachers (muallim-i evvel), assistant teachers (muallim-i sânî and sâlis), specialist teachers in calligraphy, music and physical education, itinerant (seyyar) teachers, and administrative staff such as clerks. The findings indicate that by the early twentieth century the staff structure of the Musul Darülmuallimîn had expanded numerically and become increasingly specialised. Fluctuations in student numbers and chronic financial constraints occasionally threatened institutional continuity; nevertheless, salary regulations, student stipends and the itinerant teacher system were used to supply qualified teachers to primary and rüşdiye schools in Musul and its surroundings. From this perspective, the Musul Darülmuallimîn can be seen as one of the key provincial teacher training centres in which the institutional and professional foundations of rüşdiye teacher cadres were formed.
Musul, Darülmuallimîn, Rüşdiye, Teacher Cadres, Ottoman Educational History
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