In the last thirty years, priority given to a school rationale meant to justify pre-schooling has coincided with a twofold change within the institution. The first change is about the relations the nursery school maintains with compulsory schooling and with the structure necessary for taking care of small children. Another one relates to school curriculum reforms and to the development of assessment processes. Nursery school - a place where small children are welcomed and taken care of as well as educated and prepared for school - has become a school in its own right, as far as the institution itself is concerned. The dissemination of international comparisons has contributed to such changes.
preschool; early childhood; curriculum; France