Nursery School for Ages 3–6

Discover the eleventh session of the 2025–2026 seminar series "Crossed Perspectives on Early Childhood": "Nursery School for Ages 3–6: The Specific Preschool Network in France (1920s–1980s)".

The seminar will be held in French.

The seminar approaches early childhood as a social, historical, and cultural construct. Knowledge and theories relating to conception, birth, and child development are analysed in terms of the child’s interactions with their surroundings and according to gender norms. The seminar also explores the boundaries of this age category and its temporality, according to medical, international, anthropological, and historical standards.

This presentation will examine the evolution of the network of preschools in France (both mainland France and overseas territories) from the 1920s—when the status of preschool teachers was officially aligned with that of elementary school teachers—through the 1980s, a decade in which nearly all children aged 3 to 6 were enrolled in preschool. We will demonstrate how the landscape shifted from a diverse array of early childhood settings (preschools, kindergarten classes and sections, kindergartens, and family-based care and education) to a standardized preschool model mandated for all, in both urban and rural areas. Particular attention will be paid to the key players in preschool: school inspectors, the association of specialists (AGIEM), as well as policymakers at various levels, medical professionals, researchers, and families. 

• Patricia Legris: Lecturer in Contemporary History at the University of Rennes 2
• Discussant: Michel-Christian: Historian, University of Geneva