COMMERCIAL TEACHER TRAINING.

Some progress has been made in this phase of commercial education during the past year. The work of this kind begun in Indiana, New Jersey, Minnesota, Iowa, Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington last year has developed satisfactorily during the 1919–20 year.

California.-A course of training for commercial teachers was offered at the University of California, Berkeley, for six weeks, beginning June 21. The Federal Board's commercial education representative cooperated with the university in this work the first two weeks of the term.

Massachusetts.-The Prince School of Education for Store Service has been taken over by Harvard University and affiliated with its Graduate School of Education. This gives to retail selling education a status it has not heretofore enjoyed, and indicates definite progress in the field of vocational commercial training.

New York. The first retail selling teacher-training class, at New York University, has enrolled 39 members. The first year's experience indicates clearly the ultimate success of this venture which was made possible by the generous financial support of New York merchants. A special summer school for vocational education teachers, provided by the State in the normal school at Oswego, N. Y., offered a separate course for commercial teachers, with special reference to continuation school business training. The Federal Board's representatives assisted in the preparation of this course and in giving instruction to the teachers enrolled.

Ohio. The Ohio State board, realizing the demand for better trained retail selling teachers, has given the necessary financial support to establish such a teacher-training course in the University of Cincinnati. Great results are expected from the venture, as this university is the pioneer in the field of cooperative university training.

Pennsylvania.-A retail selling teacher-training course has been given at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, during this year. It has been fostered by Pittsburgh merchants. From this course a number of students were graduated this year, some of whom accepted public-school teaching positions.

Virginia.-A commercial teacher-training course has been organized at the State Normal College for Women at Fredericksburg, Va., under the direct authorization of the State board of education. A class of about 25 young women will be enrolled for this work. The Federal Board's representative, at the request of the president of the college, outlined the course and gave other aid in establishing it.

The Federal Board is doing all in its power to stimulate this muchneeded type of vocational instruction, to the end that vocational com

mercial training may keep pace with constant developments in busi

ness.

PART-TIME COMMERCIAL CLASSES.

1. THE COOPERATIVE TYPE.

Largely through the Federal Board's efforts, directors of commercial education are rapidly coming to an understanding of the advantage that accrues from establishing business training on a cooperative or part-time basis. Many high schools are arranging that their commercial students shall get some contact with actual business before their formal training ends.

In some cities, this practical experience is secured by assigning all commercial pupils of certain grades to the various school offices for definite periods each week. In others, it is secured through a cooperative arrangement with business men, who make places in their offices and stores for commercial students who have not yet finished their

courses.

During the past year, a great many retail selling part-time courses have been established. These will be referred to under a subsequent heading.

Part-time or cooperative office-training classes have been conducted in Los Angeles, Calif., Seattle, Wash., Salem, Oreg., Des Moines, Iowa, Cincinnati, Ohio, Rochester and New York City, N. Y, and Springfield, Mass. This is by no means a complete list. By the end of the current year, definite and more complete data will be available on this subject, since the following States have provided for this type of work in their State plans: Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Washington, Rhode Island, Texas, California, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, New York, and Minnesota.

The following States mentioned commercial courses in their State plans for vocational education, but have not as yet crystalized their thought on this subject into definite form: Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois.

The following cities have during the past year indicated their growing interest in this field by calling for the help of the Federal Board in the development of cooperative store and office commercial

courses:

Southern section.-Richmond, Va.; Knoxville, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Memphis, Tenn.; Birmingham, Ala.; Atlanta, Ga.; Jacksonville and Tampa, Fla.; New Orleans, La.; Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston, Tex.

Middle western section.-Pittsburgh, Pa.; Indianapolis and Terre Haute, Ind.; Peoria, Galesburg, and Chicago, Ill.; Des Moines, Iowa; Detroit and Grand Rapids, Mich. : St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth, Minn.; Cleveland, Sandusky, Canton, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Cincinnati, Ohio; Wichita, Kans.; and Kansas City, Mo.

Eastern section.-Buffalo, Rochester, and New York City, N. Y.; Portland and Augusta, Me.; Boston, Worcester, and Springfield, Mass.; Providence, R. I.; Waterbury, Conn.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Baltimore, Md.

Western section.-Helena, Billings, and Butte, Mont.; Spokane, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and Walla Walla, Wash.; Portland, Salem, Eugene, and Corvallis, Oreg.; San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Stockton, and Los Angeles, Calif.

2. THE CONTINUATION SCHOOL TYPE.

As stated in a previous report, provision should be made for giving business training to continuation school pupils who are commercially employed. It is evident, however, that the usual type of business training will not meet the needs of this group.

To find out just what education such workers have had, what duties they perform, what promotional opportunities are open to them, and what training they require, the Federal Board made, during the past year, a survey of commercial occupations open to boys and girls from 14 to 17 years of age, inclusive. This study was made in cooperation with the State directors of vocational education in each of the 22 States having a continuation school law. One or more cities were selected in each State, and 19 cities in 16 States carried the survey through and made a full report in time for inclusion in the general report of these surveys, prepared and published by this Board, as Bulletin No. 54-Commercial Education Series, No. 4, entitled "Survey of Junior Commercial Occupations." In this report 26 elementary commercial courses are presented, based upon job analyses of the junior commercial employments shown by the survey to be important in the training of young people for commercial service. This bulletin is bound to exert a powerful influence on business training throughout the country.

Many cities and States are interested in the phase of commercial education, known as retail selling training, as it is affected by the compulsory continuation-school laws. Groups of young store workers are being brought together in many cities for training along the lines of their store work.

New York, Pennsylvania, and California are studying this particular problem at the present time. An increasingly large number of stores are now asking that beginners be at least 16, preferably 17 or 18, years of age. Courses of study suggested for these groups of store workers, under 18 years of age, will be found in the above bulletin, under the retail selling education section.

FOREIGN TRADE EDUCATION.

The new foreign trade bulletin, announced in last year's report, was printed during the past year by the Bureau of Foreign and Do

mestic Commerce, and is known as "Miscellaneous No. 97, Training for Foreign Trade." As a statement of its contents was given when it was announced, this need not be repeated here.

The bulletin, announced on training for the steamship business, was also published during the past year by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce through a cooperative arrangement with that bureau, and is known as "Miscellaneous No. 98, Training for the Steamship Business."

A text for use in teaching foreign trade paper work, just issued, is the joint product of the Federal Board and the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, and is known as "Miscellaneous Series No. 85, Paper Work in Export Trade." A portfolio of forms accompanies the text.

As a result of the Federal Board's work in this field, part-time foreign trade courses have been established in many cities where such courses were greatly needed. The extent to which the Board's efforts have been helpful in making available material for instruction in foreign trade classes is shown by the fact that over 9,000 copies of one of the foreign trade bulletins prepared by the Board have been purchased at 50 cents a copy from the Superintendent of Documents. Further extension of this type of training is expected.

RETAIL SELLING TRAINING.

During the year ended June 30, 1919, the Federal Board published, in response to a growing demand for help in training store workers, a retail selling education bulletin. As a result of this publication and the work of others interested in this phase of vocational training, classes for store workers have been organized in nearly every city in the country; retail selling courses have been established in many public and private high schools; and elementary store training has been demanded by junior store employees who are now required to attend the continuation schools. To meet the increasing demand for help in this field, it became necessary, at the beginning of the past fiscal year, to appoint a special retail selling agent.

The widespread interest in retail selling training, as evidence by calls for the aid of the Federal Board in developing this work in various sections of the United States, is both significant and gratifying. It means that this largest single group of commercal workers are to be transferred through suitable training from the unskilled to the skilled classification.

During the past year, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio, Maine, New York, Rhode Island, and California have taken definite steps to include retail selling in their State plans for Vocational education.

COOPERATING AGENCIES.

1. NATIONAL RETAIL DRY GOODS ASSOCIATION.

During the past year the interest and support of the National Retail Dry Goods Association has been particularly helpful. The managing director, the director of education, other executives, and members of the organization have done everything in their power to foster the development of retail selling training courses. Many of the merchants, appreciating keenly the value and need of this training, maintain educational departments in their own establishments. Educational directors, store managers, and members of firms where educational work is maintained are always interested to cooperate helpfully in the establishment of public school retail selling courses. The members of the Retail Research Association, with headquar ters in New York, emphasizing the need for organization and training where personnel problems are concerned, are working in close association with those interested in this phase of vocational education, both in this country and in England. Where the stores work in sympathetic and intelligent cooperation with the public schools, the results are most successful.

In Baltimore, Md., for instance, where six stores employ educational directors, even the first year of retail selling work in the public schools has been successful and has met with fewer obstacles than is usual where new work is introduced into a school system.

2. CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND RETAIL TRADE BOARDS.

In the organization of the work in new fields the State boards for Vocational education have found it advantageous to work with or through local chambers of commerce or retail trade boards. In sev eral of the cities mentioned the initial meetings were called by the chamber of commerce and held in its assembly rooms. The committee of the chamber of commerce works with committees appointed by public-school authorities.

3. UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES.

The interest shown by the universities in this new vocational work is encouraging, and proves that it is well past the pioneer stage. Nothing could demonstrate this more clearly than that Harvard University has invited the Prince School, the pioneer school in the retail selling teacher-training field, to be affiliated with its new graduate school of education. This demonstrates also in the strongest possiblə way, to those who need convincing, that such a course is educational in its content. It has put commercial education into the ranks of a recognized profession.