Appointment of professors in the school of education as principals of affiliated schools to normal universities highly reflects the features of normal education.In the 21st century,the tradition of profes-sor-titled principals has been endowed with contemporary value:promoting the high-quality and balanced de-velopment of basic education with the spirit of universities;leading the practical reform of primary and second-ary schools with academic rationality;and improving the quality of teacher education through the interaction of theory and reality.In the future,it is necessary to normalize the appointment of university professors as princi-pals of primary and secondary schools,establish a long-term mechanism,and ensure cross-boundary school running and role transition of university professors.In addition,difficulties of cross-boundary cooperation should be dealt with directly in solving the cultural and role conflicts.