Reducing educational inequalities through metacognition? Evidence from an early childhood teachers' training program

This study evaluated the effects of a metacognition-focused professional development program on early childhood teachers' practices and students' learning. Embedded in the French national training system and conducted under naturalistic conditions, the study, employed a quasi-experimental design involving 44 teachers and 499 children aged 4 to 6 from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in pre-primary schools. After training, teachers in the experimental group used more metacognition-related practices than those in the control group, who followed their usual professional development program. These changes were associated with gains in children's metacognition and academic abilities, particularly in mathematics. Importantly, learning differences emerged by socioeconomic status (SES), with low-SES children showing larger gains than their high-SES peers. These findings highlight that such a professional development program holds promise for both improving instructional quality and reducing educational inequalities from the earliest age.