Le Numéro Barbette: Destabilising Gender on the High Wire and the Flying Trapeze

In the autumn of 1923, Barbette (Vander Clyde) took Parisian theatres by storm with a provocative amalgamation of trapeze artistry and female impersonation. His act in interwar France was timely and daring. While the destructive results of the First World War had left the country with deep concerns about the degeneration of the male body and the nation as a whole, Barbette's performance signified a homosexual identity and a questioning of traditional categories of masculinity and femininity. Fostering the interest of controversial poet and film maker, Jean Cocteau and his artistic entourage, Barbette's performance received much praise and was immortalised in Cocteau's 1926 essay Le Numéro Barbette. Drawing on a number of under-examined performance reviews by French critics, as well as Steegmuller's interview with Barbette, I focus on how Barbette's career and performances contributed to debates about the constructedness of gender and how they were indicative of the tensions of a post-war culture that wanted to ‘return to order’. Barbette's blurring of gender categories during his aerial performances embodied these post-war tensions and signified a liminality in which gender could be destabilised and reimagined without severe repercussions.     

Daredevils and early birds: Belgian pioneers in automobile racing and aerial sports during the belle époque

During the belle époque, Belgium was a trend-setting nation in many domains, including motorised sports. Belgian automobile racers and pilots shattered world records and became international stars. Striking was the shift in sports. Indeed, around 1896, sporting members of the leisure class stepped from the bicycle into the automobile and, around 1908, from the automobile into the airplane. Although these motorised sports were extremely expensive, this article shows that sportsmen and sportswomen from the working class could achieve upward social mobility through their performances. The achievements of these motorised pioneers had a major impact and wide-ranging significance. They laid the foundations for the expansion of the automobile industry and the emergence of civilian and military aviation.     

Special Education in Bangladesh

SPECIAL EDUCATION in Bangladesh reflects the overall educational problems faced by the nation. While some government programs for children with sensory disabilities are provided, most special education is supported by non‐government organizations. Though planning for improved special education has occurred, implementation has been restricted by economic constraints.     

Effects of kindergarten retention for at-risk children’s psychosocial development

Kindergarten retention is a popular practice for children who are considered unready for primary school. However, past research has not yet succeeded to find consistent, strong empirical evidence supporting the practice. In the current study, kindergarten repeaters’ development in nine psychosocial domains is compared with that of equally at risk but (1) continuously promoted age-mates and (2) promoted age-mates who repeated first grade instead. Analysing data from a large-scale longitudinal study using propensity score matching and multilevel modelling, the findings reveal no harm of kindergarten retention for at-risk children’s long term psychosocial development. Rather, we find that, relative to equally at-risk but continuously promoted children, kindergarten repeaters benefit from retention with respect to higher levels of well-being, and peer relations, and lower levels of hyperactivity, aggression and asocial behaviour. Compared to similar children who were promoted but who were retained in first grade instead, kindergarten repeaters are found to benefit more from retention with respect to higher levels of well-being, self-confidence, attitude to work and independent behaviour, and lower levels of hyperactivity.     

Evaluation of a mathematics program for preprimary children in rural Bangladesh

A randomized evaluation of a 9-month comprehensive math program for preprimary Bangladeshi school children addressed skills such as numbers, measurement, shapes, patterns, and space. Nine schools were randomly selected for the Intervention group and nine for the Control group, with 12 children randomly selected from each to participate in testing. Pre- and posttested scores on each unit's skills and a cumulative test at the end were subjected to analyses of covariance. Intervention children doubled their scores on almost all tests while control children increased only slightly. Reasons for the program's effectiveness were discussed.     

新疆教育学院双语培训教师师德师风建设中存在的问题与对策

双语教师培训惠及边疆地区各民族儿女,双语教师的师德师风关系到双语教育的成败。文章采用问卷调查法,分析研究新疆教育学院双语教师师德师风建设过程中的主要问题,并提出了相关的对策。     

Long-term effects of primary schools on educational positions of students 2 and 4 years after the start of secondary education

Although the importance of primary schools in the long term is of interest in educational effectiveness research, few studies have examined the long-term effects of schools over the past decades. In the present study, long-term effects of primary schools on the educational positions of students 2 and 4 years after starting secondary education are investigated. Moreover, it is examined which school factors play a role in this process. We specifically investigated whether effective primary schools make a difference in the long term. This study uses data from the longitudinal SiBO project, which followed 6,000 pupils in primary education in Flanders, Belgium, and has follow-up data during secondary education. Two-level models and cross-classified multilevel models show that primary schools have long-term effects on the educational positions of students in secondary education.     

Long‐term effects of primary schools on mathematics achievement of students at age 17

In the field of educational effectiveness research, school effects are generally studied in the short term (i.e. during the same phase of schooling). The aim of this study is to investigate long‐term primary school effects on students’ achievement in mathematics at the end of secondary education. We also investigate which primary school characteristics are of importance in the long term. Data from the longitudinal SiBO project, in which a cohort of 6,000 Flemish pupils were intensively followed from kindergarten to grade 7, was used. At the age of 17, the same cohort participated in follow‐up data collection. Cross‐classified multilevel models showed small continuing effects of primary school on the mathematics achievement of students (i.e. over and above what had been reached at the end of primary education). No long‐term effect was found of the proportion of high‐risk students at primary school. Students coming from a primary school with a higher effectiveness obtained higher mathematics results at age 17, but when the mathematics achievement of students at the end of primary school was taken into account, this effect disappeared. We also observed that students coming from Catholic primary schools performed better in mathematics at age 17 compared with students coming from public schools. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Learning environment and students’ mathematics attitude

This study investigated the association between students’ perception of the learning environment and three aspects of their mathematics attitude: ‘mathematics academic self-concept’, ‘enjoyment of mathematics’ and ‘perceived value of mathematics’. The focus was on the association of students’ mathematics attitude with four dimensions in the learning environment: the extent to which the teacher ‘motivates to exert learning effort’, ‘activates towards self-regulated learning’, ‘gives feedback and coaches’, and ‘structures and steers’. Data were obtained from an extended version of the international Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) of 2003. Multilevel analysis on a sample of 4354 eighth grade students in 228 classes in 119 schools in Flanders (Belgium) indicated that the learning environment plays a significant role in the enjoyment of mathematics. This while the mathematics academic self-concept and the perceived value of mathematics are insensitive for aspects in the learning environment.