Children from wealthy families may do better at school than their poorer classmates because of superior genetic “inherited abilities”, according to a new Federal Government report.
The controversial claim is made in a Productivity Commission research paper, published today, that examines the reasons behind the cycle of disadvantage in Australia.
Parental brain power and inherited genes are named as a significant influence in kids from low socio-economic groups performing worse at school than more privileged ones.
Entitled Deep and Persistent Disadvantage in Australia, the report says “one explanation for differences in educational attainment between children of low and high socio-economic backgrounds is parents’ cognitive abilities and inherited genes”.
However, the authors acknowledged that while one British study concluded this could account for 20 per cent of the gap in test scores between the richest and poorest families, it is a controversial and hard to measure area “because of the interactions between genes and the environment”.
Other factors in the discrepancy include access to resources such as books, computers and study space, parents’ attitudes and aspirations, schools and personal character traits.
Unemployment was linked to “poorer parenting skills” and bad behaviour in children, while positive family environments that supported reading, interaction and learning had the opposite effect.
The report paints a bleak picture for kids from poor backgrounds, who are already “behind the eight ball” when they start school and fall further behind as they get older.
But having parents who show interest and are positive role models is likely to help these children defy the odds and succeed in later life, evidence showed. Going to school with higher achievers had the same effect.
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