The history of girls’ education in France forms part of the broader history of education in France and of female education, while also being closely connected to social structures and, more specifically, to the history of women in the country.

According to the Dictionnaire de l’Académie française, education is defined as the action of raising, forming, and instructing an individual by developing physical, intellectual, and moral qualities. The term derives from the Latin educatio, initially referring to the act of raising animals or plants, and later to instruction and the formation of the mind.

Education is generally understood as the responsibility of parents and of society as a whole. In the case of girls, it has historically been shaped by a broader framework that includes the family and social environment, as well as moral instruction provided by religious institutions and, later, formal schooling, which played a significant role in influencing behavior and social roles.

The is more frequently approached through the study of women’s participation as educators and professionals within the educational system rather than as pupils.

Historiography One of the earliest historiographical syntheses on the history of girls’ education in France was produced by the historian in 1988. In 2007, the Franco-American historian observed that this synthesis primarily drew on recent scholarship influenced by social history and women’s history, while giving limited attention to earlier historiographical traditions developed by reformist republicans during the Third Republic. In her own historiographical study published in 2007, Rogers incorporated these earlier works and examined their influence on subsequent research, highlighting changes in the field from the 1990s onward. She also noted that studies on girls’ education within religious congregations tended to be highly localized and, as of 2007, did not provide a comprehensive overview.

The late nineteenth century saw major republican educational reforms that expanded access to schooling for girls, including the creation of dedicated secondary schools, lycées, and teacher-training institutions. During this period, authors such as Octave Gréard and Paul Rousselot, alongside female writers, produced some of the earliest historical accounts of girls’ education. According to Rebecca Rogers (2007), these works generally reflect an anticlerical perspective, a tendency also evident in the early twentieth-century Dictionary of Pedagogy edited by Ferdinand Buisson.

In the first half of the twentieth century, Zénaïde Tsourikoff addressed the topic in her doctoral thesis L'enseignement des filles en Afrique du Nord (1935), which focused on the French colonial context. However, this line of research remained limited in subsequent decades.

Under the Third Republic (1870–1940), alongside works of historical analysis, numerous commemorative publications appeared, as well as institutional monographs and biographies of educators.

From the 1970s onward, research experienced a renewal driven by developments in social history, the history of education, educational sciences, and women’s history, including studies on girls’ education. Historians such as Françoise Mayeur played a significant role in this renewal. During the 1980s, several exhibitions devoted to female education were also organized.

More recently, academic research in history and sociology has increasingly examined the education of girls and boys together, with particular attention to coeducation.

Antiquity

The role of women in Roman Gaul is documented through archaeological evidence, epigraphic sources, and certain literary works, including Ausonius’s Parentalia and hagiographical texts, which require cautious interpretation.

According to historian , early childhood care held a significant place in Gallo-Roman iconography, with practices such as swaddling and the use of feeding bottles attested. Female graves and women’s funerary stelae display recurring types of grave goods, including hairpins, perfume containers, paterae, mirrors, fans, and distaffs, suggesting an early gender-based division of activities. However, some exceptions are noted, such as the presence of soldier figurines in the graves of young girls. Funerary representations of couples, often depicted holding hands or with the woman placing her hand on her husband’s shoulder, are generally interpreted as symbols of mutual trust. Objects associated with literacy, such as the volumen (scroll) or writing tablets, are common attributes of male elites and appear far less frequently in representations of women. Literary and epigraphic sources attest to the presence of women in certain professions, including medicine, as illustrated by Ausonius’s aunt Aemilia Hilaria and by Flavia Hedone, known from an epitaph in Nîmes. Girls from affluent families typically received early instruction within the household, either from their mother or from a tutor, and some entered public schools from around the age of seven. An epitaph from Vienne commemorates Iulia Felicissima, described as a schoolgirl who died at the age of seven years and six months; the inscription suggests a familiarity with Greek culture. Other inscriptions from Vienne refer to adolescents engaged in instruction in the liberal arts. Evidence from cities such as Autun, Marseille, and Bordeaux indicates that some girls may have attended advanced courses in rhetoric and law. However, literary testimony, notably from Ausonius, suggests that such access remained limited and socially conditioned.

Some women, particularly from affluent social backgrounds, participated in mystery cults. In Gaul, women frequently appear as dedicants in the cult of Cybele, notably in connection with the taurobolium, though they only rarely attained the status of priestess. By contrast, women could serve as priestesses in the cult of Isis, but they represented a relatively small proportion of its adherents. In the cults of indigenous goddesses of Gaul, the Germanies, and Raetia, commonly grouped under the name Matrones, women are identified as dedicants in approximately 12% of cases, with an additional 4% of dedications made jointly by couples. Women, most often alongside a spouse, also appear among those making offerings to deities such as Mercury and Jupiter.

Middle Ages

During the Early Middle Ages, monasteries played a role in the education of female novices. Several abbesses, including Caesaria of Arles, Radegund of Poitiers, Bertille of Chelles, and Anstrudis of Laon, are noted for their educational activities.

One example is the legend of Heloise in the 11th century. She was educated at the presbytery of , which belonged to the Montforts. To avoid an unhappy marriage, her uncle introduced Heloise to the trivium and encouraged her to pursue a course of liberal arts.

In medieval Western Europe, ideals of virtue, piety, and proper conduct imparted to girls are reflected in didactic literature, such as The Book of the Knight of the Tower, written in the late fourteenth century by Geoffroi de La Tour Landry for his daughters.

During the Middle Ages, education was heavily influenced by a theocentric worldview and Christian doctrine, which emphasized instruction according to divine law. Children’s education was primarily religious, with parish priests, monks, and other members of the clergy serving as instructors. Practices, thought, and behavior were generally guided by religious principles.

Access to education varied according to social background. In rural areas, peasant girls typically assisted with domestic and agricultural tasks, including work in the household, garden, or fields. Their education was largely provided by their mothers, who taught them practical skills such as sewing and embroidery, as well as basic religious instruction.

Girls from bourgeois families were educated at home by their parents or sent to convents.

Noble girls typically received instruction in monasteries or from private tutors at their residences. Their education included reading and writing, basic medical knowledge, and musical training, often through singing and playing instruments. They were also expected to be proficient in religious practice and to acquire skills considered appropriate for managing a household.

Schools were open to children of all social backgrounds but tended to favor the education of boys. Between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, girls had the right to attend classes in small schools managed by female teachers. Among the educated women of the period, the author Christine de Pizan emphasized that she regarded women and men as having equal intellectual capacity. Having received the customary education of a young woman of her rank, she later faced widowhood and the responsibility of supporting her family, which led her to pursue a writing career. In her work The Book of the City of Ladies (1405), she argued for the recognition of the intellectual equality of the sexes and for the right of girls to receive an education comparable to that of boys.

Renaissance During the Renaissance, which began in France, as in much of the European continent, in the fifteenth century, about a century after Italy, schooling was above all an instrument of religious education and was meant to be implemented to prevent ignorance in society.

At the beginning of the modern period in Europe, and particularly in France, single-sex schools became more numerous following the Protestant and Catholic reforms, with moral objectives. This was accompanied by the idea that each sex should have a teacher of the same sex. However, in the smallest schools, especially in rural areas, limited resources meant that the two sexes often continued to receive instruction together.

An education above all religious In the sixteenth century, the education of girls was primarily oriented toward religious instruction. Religious knowledge was central, and other forms of learning, such as reading, were often taught in relation to the Bible. Girls were also instructed in domestic skills and catechism to prepare them for roles as wives and mothers. Religious education was frequently transmitted from mother to daughter. Only a small number of women received instruction beyond this religious framework. This reflects the prominent role of the Church in education, as well as societal expectations of women as primarily mothers and wives.

The social diversification of girls’ instruction During this period, the education of girls varied according to social status. Girls from affluent families could attend fee-paying institutions where instruction included religious education, literacy, and basic intellectual training.

Girls from less wealthy families typically attended free schools, where they received instruction in reading, writing, religious practices, and practical skills for earning a living.

The diversification of male and female schooling During the Renaissance, differences existed between the educational paths of girls and boys, primarily due to the shorter duration of schooling for girls. For instance, boarding school education for girls typically lasted two to four years, while for boys it ranged from three to eight years.

As a result, girls’ education was often shorter, irregular, and interrupted by religious observances such as baptism and communion. In contrast, boys generally experienced longer, more continuous, and structured educational programs.

In the fifteenth century, Jean de Gerson, Grand Chancellor of the University of Paris, expressed the view that education for women should be approached with caution.

In practice: convents and elementary schools There were two specific places where girls’ education took place: