‘Vél’ d’Hiv’ six-day race: the spirit of Paris during the twenties

The Vélodrome d’Hiver, known colloquially as ‘Vél’ d’Hiv’, was a major sports venue located in Paris, not far from the Eiffel Tower. Used for ice hockey, boxing, wrestling and other events, it was above all the scene of a famous cycling competition: the Six-Day Race. It enjoyed such success that it became a source of artistic inspiration, both in painting, literature and film. La Ronde infernale (Infernal Circle), a feature film released in French cinemas in 1928, for example, shows how writer and director Henri Decoin and producer Luitz-Morat, captured the venue, race and popular fervour to depict, with precision and empathy, a typical scene of Parisian life in the 1920s. However, far from being a mere portrait of a bygone era, this film, in the same way as all subsequent figurative portrayals, helped to immortalise this site and establish it in the collective memory, to such an extent that it became a ‘living metaphor’ in Paris. In short, by adopting the principles related to the social history of representations, this paper aims to identify the importance of figurative space in general, and cinema in particular, in the historical, memorial and heritage construction of an ancient temple of French sport.     

Longitudinal comparisons of wechsler scales in educable mentally handicapped children and adults

The change in IQ scores over an extended period of time (approximately 17 years) of subjects who had been placed in classes for the Educable Mentally Handicapped was investigated. Analysis indicated that a significant difference existed between WISC scores administered at the time of initial placement (mean age, 11–9) and WAIS scores administered at a later date (mean age, 17–6). In addition, although a difference was revealed with respect to WAIS scores when the students were divided into two groups based upon initial WISC scores (⩽70 vs. >70), it was determined that the change was in a uniform fashion over time; i.e., neither regression nor interaction effects were detected. A final analysis revealed that those students who were located for a follow-up testing approximately 10 years later (mean age 28–8) continued to show a significant increase in IQ scores. The importance placed upon IQ scores for initial placement of students in EMH programs appears to remain suspect.     

Developing a School Focused Approach to Continuing Professional Development in Sustainability Education

This article has two aims. Its first is to describe how findings from a questionnaire survey of 96 UK primary schools influenced the theory of action adopted in the SEEPS Project, (Sustainability Education in European Primary Schools, 1997) funded by DGXI and DGXXII of the European Commission and Scottish Natural Heritage. SEEPS is a continuing professional development (CPD) project developed by representatives from 11 European educational systems. The first section of the article outlines how the Project came to adopt a school focused theory of action in CPD, in preference to a centralised or school-based approach. School focused CPD trains trainers and provides them with adaptable materials that can support individualised CPD programmes decided in and by the school and its staff. The second aim is to outline and analyse some of the more interesting inter and intra-regional relationships, correlations and differences which emerged from the survey. We have only included those findings that illuminate CPD provision in sustainability education. This article seeks to share data with others working in environmental education and sustainability education and to stimulate a debate about the relevance of school focused approaches in international discussions about CPD in environmental and sustainability education.     

Avoiding the Hoops: A study of recognition of prior learning processes in Australian faculties of education

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) refers to recognition of non-credentialled or informal learning. In the university context, there are difficulties in determining the appropriateness and extent of experiential learning since there is no research-based modelling to guide the process. This article draws on an Australian Research Council grant project which aims to draw up research-based, nationally applicable protocols and procedures for RPL in education faculties in Australia. It concludes that there is room for greater development of procedures for recognising prior learning than exists in many faculties of education.     

Art,Design and Environment: A Programme for Teacher Education

This account of a programme for PGCE Art/Design students at University College Bretton Hall, Wakefield (UK) describes an attempt in initial teacher training to develop a course of study which links art, design, environment and education. It seeks to develop a range of perceptions of the built environment, including those of the artist, the critic and the designer. The ideas and methods of working developed on this programme support students’ work in schools. The paper explains the rationale and describes the intensive workshop programme, which includes streetwork, studio sessions and critique. It reports on students’ research and their work in schools. Issues include the place of built environment studies in the Art/Design curriculum, the use of the environment as an educational resource and learning methods and teaching strategies. It comments on the satisfactions and frustrations of developing such a programme in initial teacher education. It presents the work at Bretton Hall as a case study in a wider range of work currently being developed by students, tutors and teachers involved in other courses. They have come together through the ‘Site Specific Project’ to create a research network to support curriculum innovation and teachers’ professional development.