On the occasion of the start of the school year, franceinfo looked at six preconceived ideas related to schooling and learning and sorted out the truth from the falsehoods.
The holidays are over, the supplies are bought, the schoolbags are packed. The classrooms are just waiting for their students, who are going back to school on Monday, September 2. Nearly 12 million primary, secondary and high school students are meeting or discovering their teachers and classmates. On this occasion, and with the help of scientific experts, franceinfo has verified six preconceived ideas about this pivotal time of the year, about schooling and learning.
1 Back to school is getting more and more expensive: quite true
Three small square spiral notebooks, two large square notebooks, ballpoint pens in four different colors, a fountain pen… For parents, the bill for the long list of school supplies can quickly become steep. A study by the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir, published in July, however, anticipates a very slight drop for the start of the 2024 school year. On a basket of 135 products, prices are 1% lower than in July 2023.
The Familles de France association also announced a 1.27% drop in the cost of school supplies for a student entering 6th grade. This slight decline does not erase the constant increase in the price of school supplies in recent years, visible in INSEE data, as well as the high inflation in 2023. The cost of school supplies had jumped by 11.3% compared to 2022, according to a report by the Confédération syndicale des familles.
To limit the cost of going back to school, many families prefer to reuse old school supplies when possible or turn to second-hand goods. Since buying new equipment is sometimes unavoidable, assistance is available. The back-to-school allowance was paid subject to resource conditions by the Family Allowance Fund in August. For the 2024 school year, it reaches 416.40 euros per schoolchild aged 6 to 10, 439.38 euros for children aged 11 to 14. For older children, aged 15 to 18, it is set at 454.60 euros.
2 Holiday workbooks are essential for preparing for the new school year: false
Every summer, these workbooks are on sale everywhere. If you believe the advertising slogans, they are the key to academic success. These summer exercises can, in some cases, improve students’ results, according to one of the rare studies on the subject conducted by the Institute for Research on the Economics of Education in 2001. If we compare school performance in June and in September, children who complete their holiday workbook obtain better results. However, only 23.4% of children complete their workbook. “A child who has partially used a holiday workbook (or who has not used it) does not progress any more than a student who has not worked”the study says. Mathematics is an exception: an improvement “notable” remains visible even if the child does not finish their holiday workbook.
The study, however, notes several biases. First, users of holiday workbooks were, at the time of the survey, “girls, the best students, the children of executives, and more generally in families who want their children to ‘get ahead'”. Furthermore, “the probability of completing a holiday workbook is not completely random” And “clearly depends on the academic and social characteristics of the students (…) and also increases with the intervention of parents (in particular, the establishment of a work schedule, corrections, grading)”.
A study by the Department of Evaluation of Foresight and Performance, published in 2005, confirms that it is indeed students who already have good academic results who use holiday workbooks. These workbooks therefore do not allow students to catch up on a delay gained during the school year or to acquire new knowledge, but to confirm already solid achievements.
3Each student has their own “learning style” that should be favored: false
Does your child retain information better when he reads it, hears it, or touches something while learning it? Is he visual, auditory, or even kinesthetic? According to the popular theory of “learning styles,” identifying the most effective channel for recording information would help maximize a child’s memorization abilities.
“This theory is not proven by science”immediately dismisses Christophe Rodo, neuroscientist and popularizer. This idea that everyone would have a preferred sensory channel for memorizing is false: “Limiting yourself to one sensory channel is even counterproductive”according to the author of the podcast “Head in the Brain”. “Rigorous research has shown that students do not learn better when instruction is tailored to the learning style they say they prefer.”write researchers from the University of Mons in Belgium, based on a review of the scientific literature. “The idea of adapting one’s teaching to the learning styles of the students in one’s class therefore seems unproductive.”
To retain information, the brain creates links. “If you get information in several different ways, it will definitely stick better in your memory.”explains Christophe Rodo. Moreover, even when focusing on a transmission channel, it is never the only one used. “When you read, you have an internal voice that you hear. When you listen to something, you visualize images in your head.”illustrates Christophe Rodo. To maximize your child’s memory and learning abilities, multiplying the ways of learning is therefore the key.
4 Today’s school programs are simpler than they used to be: rather false
This preconceived idea comes up every year. Today’s students are supposedly taught much simpler programs than their ancestors. Contacted by franceinfo, Claude Lelièvre, an education historian, qualifies this: “If we compare the content of the programs, they are denser than before.”
The concepts taught are now selected by several experts from the Higher Council of Programs. The latter decide in the development of school programs. “The plurality of their knowledge allows them to diversify the learning taught”which have evolved like society, says Claude Lelièvre. Modern languages are now taught more than Latin and Greek. In mathematics, statistics are now predominant compared to the teaching of weights and measures.
In addition to the increase in the number of concepts, learning methods have also evolved and tend to become more complex. “Today, programs are more focused on problematization than on recitation”notes Claude Lelièvre. If the reflection is accentuated, the recitation still exists, notably through poetry.
In short, new concepts are added, without removing the old ones. The programs are therefore richer these days, according to the specialist. Only, Faced with the constraints of reality, not all parts of the program are studied. Overcrowded classes, few teachers… “The programs are too heavy for the time available”judge Claude Lelièvre.
5 Four-day week is better for children: false
In 2017, the then Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, reintroduced the possibility for municipalities to return to a four-day week, instead of four and a half days, in nursery and elementary schools. Some believe that this rhythm is beneficial for children. Interviewed by franceinfo, chronobiologist René Clarisse considers on the contrary that the rhythm of four school days per week “is the worst” for the well-being of the child. A Senate report, tasked with taking stock of this reform in 2017, noted the “scientific consensus on the harmful nature of the four-day week”.
“It is best to spread the learning time over four and a half days.”
René Clarisse, chronobiologistto franceinfo
According to the researcher, children from CE2 to CM2 have a peak in concentration between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., then a second in the afternoon around 4:30 p.m. The youngest children are better concentrated early in the morning. “Adding a morning during the week therefore makes it possible to make better use of this peak in concentration.”he believes.
Finally, he believes it is better to open classrooms on Saturday mornings rather than Wednesday mornings. “Reducing the weekend for children allows them to better regulate their nights of sleep and therefore have a more stable rhythm”he assures. According to the researcher, the interest of the child is relegated behind those of the parents and the economy of the country. “With the four days, the children have longer days, which allows them to better adapt to the parents’ rhythm”he concluded.
6 Boys are better at maths and girls are better at French: true, but with some qualification
In the field of education, gender equality has still not been achieved. According to the latest Pisa 2022 questionnaire published by the Directorate for the Evaluation of Foresight and Performance, boys are slightly better in mathematics than girls. “In 2022, boys have a score of 479 and girls 469”details the information note. This difference is similar to that of the average of OECD countries and has not changed since 2003. Concerning French, Boys have an average score 20 points lower than that of girls.
A study by the National Institute of Demographic Studies revealed that the difference in mathematics between girls and boys emerges from the age of 6 or 7. In earlier grades, the gap in level is “non-existent”. “We even observed slightly better results in girls”assures developmental psychologist Jean-Paul Fischer, co-author of this study, interviewed by franceinfo.
Why does a gap appear then? According to another study by the Observatory of Inequalities, the explanation is to be sought in external factors. “It is explained by gender stereotypes conveyed by both parents and teachers, according to which boys are gifted in mathematics, unlike girls”summarize the authors. These stereotypes, anchored in society, permeate children and their school careers.