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Can early schooling at age 2 narrow the gaps in child development? Evidence from the French Elfe cohort.

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Title: Can early schooling at age 2 narrow the gaps in child development? Evidence from the French Elfe cohort.
Authors: Herbaut, Estelle (AUTHOR), Farges, Géraldine (AUTHOR), Giret, Jean-François (AUTHOR)
Source: Oxford Review of Education. Jun2025, Vol. 51 Issue 3, p320-338. 19p.
Subjects: Poor children, Readiness for school, Nonverbal ability, Motor ability, Confounding variables
Abstract: This article assesses the effects of early schooling in France, where children can access school-based preschool programmes from the age of 2. The aim of this policy is to increase readiness for school, and it especially targets children from disadvantaged areas. We use the Elfe cohort survey to estimate the effect of the policy on child development outcomes at age 3.5 and the contribution it makes to reducing developmental gaps among children. We controlled for a rich set of potential confounding variables, including children's baseline level of development. Using OLS regressions, we find that early schooling has a positive effect on motor skills, language skills, and knowledge of letters and numbers and to a lesser extent on social and self-help skills. Conversely, however, it has no effect on non-verbal reasoning abilities. We also find that disadvantaged children and those with a low level of skills at age 2 benefit more from early schooling. We also use logistic regressions to show that socially disadvantaged children and high-skilled children are more likely to access early schooling. We conclude that to make a more effective contribution to reducing gaps in child development, early schooling should be made more accessible to low-skilled children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Oxford Review of Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Can early schooling at age 2 narrow the gaps in child development? Evidence from the French Elfe cohort.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Herbaut%2C+Estelle%22">Herbaut, Estelle</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Farges%2C+Géraldine%22">Farges, Géraldine</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Giret%2C+Jean-François%22">Giret, Jean-François</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Oxford+Review+of+Education%22">Oxford Review of Education</searchLink>. Jun2025, Vol. 51 Issue 3, p320-338. 19p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Poor+children%22">Poor children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Readiness+for+school%22">Readiness for school</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nonverbal+ability%22">Nonverbal ability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motor+ability%22">Motor ability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Confounding+variables%22">Confounding variables</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This article assesses the effects of early schooling in France, where children can access school-based preschool programmes from the age of 2. The aim of this policy is to increase readiness for school, and it especially targets children from disadvantaged areas. We use the Elfe cohort survey to estimate the effect of the policy on child development outcomes at age 3.5 and the contribution it makes to reducing developmental gaps among children. We controlled for a rich set of potential confounding variables, including children's baseline level of development. Using OLS regressions, we find that early schooling has a positive effect on motor skills, language skills, and knowledge of letters and numbers and to a lesser extent on social and self-help skills. Conversely, however, it has no effect on non-verbal reasoning abilities. We also find that disadvantaged children and those with a low level of skills at age 2 benefit more from early schooling. We also use logistic regressions to show that socially disadvantaged children and high-skilled children are more likely to access early schooling. We conclude that to make a more effective contribution to reducing gaps in child development, early schooling should be made more accessible to low-skilled children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Oxford Review of Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/03054985.2024.2305474
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 19
        StartPage: 320
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      – SubjectFull: Poor children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Readiness for school
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nonverbal ability
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      – SubjectFull: Motor ability
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      – SubjectFull: Confounding variables
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      – TitleFull: Can early schooling at age 2 narrow the gaps in child development? Evidence from the French Elfe cohort.
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              M: 06
              Text: Jun2025
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              Y: 2025
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