Genes don’t define your destiny in education
Some schools compensate for children’s genetic differences more than others
Children vary in many important ways that affect their learning and development, partly because of their genes. A wave of research from the new field of ‘social science genomics’ shows that genes are not destiny. It is shedding new light on how education systems can help children with different genetic predispositions. This research could yield clues for improving learning environments so all children can thrive.
Children’s school performance is shaped by a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors. Over the last decade, studies with increasingly massive numbers of participants have uncovered genetic differences between people that are associated with educational attainment. This makes it possible to approximately measure children’s predispositions for learning by summing up how strongly the genetic makeup they have inherited from their parents is linked to educational attainment.
“Children’s school performance is shaped by a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors.”
Certain gene combinations are associated with school performance, as well as with traits such as dyslexia, allergies, ‘morningness’, and ADHD. The mechanisms behind these genetic associations are very complicated. It appears that a genetically influenced predisposition towards ADHD affects how able learners are to sit still and pay attention in class, and whether tests allow them to demonstrate their skills.
What impact do schools have on children’s genetic predispositions?
Importantly, children who inherit genes predisposing them to ADHD or low educational attainment are by no means predestined to fall behind at school. The school context affects whether and to what extent children’s genetic predispositions hinder their performance.
My colleagues and I recently ran two large studies in Norway to explore how these genetic predispositions are expressed in different school environments. Our main finding was that the impact of genetics depends on the school. Good schools succeed in boosting all students’ performance, especially those who are genetically predisposed to lower educational attainment.
What makes for a good school? The schools in which genetic differences have the least impact on achievement are those with the best overall achievement. These schools compensate for differences in children’s genetic predispositions. The achievement of those whose genes are associated with lower school performance improves, while everyone else maintains a high level of achievement. We don’t yet know exactly what make these schools so successful at supporting all children.
Can policy produce good schools?
In Norway, there is a long track record of government efforts to minimise differences between schools. Almost all students attend state schools, education funding is redistributed to the parts of the country that need it most, and investments focus particularly on early education for children from lower-income families. Still, children with similar genetic predispositions show different levels of achievement, depending on the school. A greater genetic predisposition for ADHD did not hinder children’s performance in the highest-performing Norwegian schools as much as it did in lower performing schools. This suggests that current efforts are not entirely successful at enabling all schools to compensate for learners’ different starting points.
“We need to find new ways to equalise schools.”
So, what education policy is needed? We need to find new ways to equalise schools so that students who have a genetic predisposition towards lower attainment receive the support they need. This could involve identifying the features of schools where children with ADHD do well and replicating them in other schools. We need to explore in detail which teacher and classroom characteristics make the difference. Does a teacher’s knowledge of learning difficulties matter? Do some students flourish more in groups than when working independently? Does the use of technology have an effect? And do these results generalise to other countries with different institutional contexts? In Norway, all children have access to high-quality education. Do schools make even more of a difference in countries with greater inequality?
Education policy worldwide should move away from the typical one-size-fits all approach and towards inclusive education that caters to all children. Some countries are already doing this. In this context, we need to consider information about children’s individual variability when investigating how schools work. Bringing genetic data into discussions about education policy and conducting further research into social science genomics can help us build equitable education systems in which all children can thrive.
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