Reducing the gender gap in early learning: Evidence from a field experiment in Norwegian preschools

The study investigates whether a more structured kindergarten curriculum can reduce significant academic gender differences before children start school. The purpose is to see whether introducing early childhood learning-based activities helps reduce differences between girls’ and boys’ skills and makes children better prepared to start school.

The results show that girls initially scored higher on the measured skills than boys. The intervention had the greatest effect for boys who improved their skills, especially in mathematics and cognitive functions. The learning programme had a small or insignificant effect on girls compared to girls in the control group. The results therefore show that the intervention contributed to a significant reduction in the differences between boys’ and girls’ skills. The effects also continued into the first year of school, which may indicate that early structured interventions can provide lasting benefits.

The study is based on a randomised controlled trial (RCT) involving 71 kindergartens in Norway. The kindergarten teachers used a structured learning programme in the form of play-based activities for the group’s 5-year-olds with a focus on key skills such as mathematics, language and cognitive functions. Over 650 children participated in the study. Throughout the intervention period, there was a control group that did not use the learning programme so that the researchers could measure the effect of the intervention. The data were combined with information about the parents’ level of education, income and any immigration.

Fidjeland, A., Rege, M., Solli, I. F., & Størksen, I. (2023). Reducing the gender gap in early learning: Evidence from a field experiment in Norwegian preschools. European Economic Review, 154, 104413.