In the context of a declining school-age population caused by the low fertility rate, local normal universities face challenges such as further improving teacher training quality, increased competition for graduate employment, and a shrinking student body, all of which are critical to their survival and development. In response to the challenges, based on an analysis of the specific characteristics of the school-age population decline, combined with international experiences, the research identifies the following adaptive adjustment paths for the development of teacher education in local normal universities: enhancing normal students' ability to teach small classes, improving their competency in cross-grade teaching and promoting the formation and transmission of positive views on marriage and childbearing. This will help facilitate a gradual transformation from a focus on scale benefits to an emphasis on quality orientation in local normal universities, while optimizing the allocation of regional educational resources.