Exploring individual differences in academic achievement : genetics, personality and the school environment

Education is one of society’s biggest investments. It aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to make their way in the world. Students’ performance at school (educational achievement) can set them on very different life trajectories. Furthermore, differences in academic achiev...

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Main Author: Smith-Woolley, Emily Dawn
Other Authors: Plomin, Robert Joseph
Published: King's College London (University of London) 2018
Online Access:https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.762399
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spelling ndltd-bl.uk-oai-ethos.bl.uk-7623992019-02-12T03:25:13ZExploring individual differences in academic achievement : genetics, personality and the school environmentSmith-Woolley, Emily DawnPlomin, Robert Joseph2018Education is one of society’s biggest investments. It aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to make their way in the world. Students’ performance at school (educational achievement) can set them on very different life trajectories. Furthermore, differences in academic achievement are linked to variation in health, wellbeing, income and even mortality. Therefore, it is of societal importance to understand why individuals differ in academic achievement, and to explore their causes and correlates to improve education. Differences in educational achievement are often attributed to the environment, for example the quality of a school a child attends. However, decades of behavioural genetic literature has shown that achievement is also substantially influenced by genetic factors. In order to increase understanding of the genetic and environmental influences on academic achievement, this thesis explores: the extent to which genetic variants associated with educational attainment explain differences in personality, and their relationship with educational achievement (Chapter 2); average DNA and achievement differences between students attending selective and non-selective schools (Chapter 3); the influence of school quality on educational achievement and student wellbeing (Chapter 4); and the genetic architecture of attainment and achievement beyond compulsory education into university (Chapter 5). This thesis uses data from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS). TEDS is a UK-representative sample of over 10,000 twin pairs followed longitudinally from age two to age 22, with a genotyped subsample of approximately 6,000 unrelated individuals. This thesis capitalises on both twin analysis and DNA-based methods to investigate the aetiology of achievement during secondary school and into university. This thesis provides evidence that: 1) genetic effects of educational attainment relate to personality and motivation, and explain part of the covariance between personality and achievement; 2) genetic and achievement differences between students attending different school types are primarily due to the heritable characteristics involved in pupil admission, including general cognitive ability, socioeconomic status and prior achievement; 3) independently-rated school quality has little influence on educational achievement or student wellbeing during secondary school; and 4) genetic influences on achievement and attainment extend beyond compulsory education into university. A discussion of these findings and their implications for teachers, policy-makers and parents is provided in the final chapter (Chapter 6), along with the conclusions that can be drawn from this body of work.King's College London (University of London)https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.762399https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/exploring-individual-differences-in-academic-achievement(70599bb7-919d-41c7-ae87-5cb4d8663ff3).htmlElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
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description Education is one of society’s biggest investments. It aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to make their way in the world. Students’ performance at school (educational achievement) can set them on very different life trajectories. Furthermore, differences in academic achievement are linked to variation in health, wellbeing, income and even mortality. Therefore, it is of societal importance to understand why individuals differ in academic achievement, and to explore their causes and correlates to improve education. Differences in educational achievement are often attributed to the environment, for example the quality of a school a child attends. However, decades of behavioural genetic literature has shown that achievement is also substantially influenced by genetic factors. In order to increase understanding of the genetic and environmental influences on academic achievement, this thesis explores: the extent to which genetic variants associated with educational attainment explain differences in personality, and their relationship with educational achievement (Chapter 2); average DNA and achievement differences between students attending selective and non-selective schools (Chapter 3); the influence of school quality on educational achievement and student wellbeing (Chapter 4); and the genetic architecture of attainment and achievement beyond compulsory education into university (Chapter 5). This thesis uses data from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS). TEDS is a UK-representative sample of over 10,000 twin pairs followed longitudinally from age two to age 22, with a genotyped subsample of approximately 6,000 unrelated individuals. This thesis capitalises on both twin analysis and DNA-based methods to investigate the aetiology of achievement during secondary school and into university. This thesis provides evidence that: 1) genetic effects of educational attainment relate to personality and motivation, and explain part of the covariance between personality and achievement; 2) genetic and achievement differences between students attending different school types are primarily due to the heritable characteristics involved in pupil admission, including general cognitive ability, socioeconomic status and prior achievement; 3) independently-rated school quality has little influence on educational achievement or student wellbeing during secondary school; and 4) genetic influences on achievement and attainment extend beyond compulsory education into university. A discussion of these findings and their implications for teachers, policy-makers and parents is provided in the final chapter (Chapter 6), along with the conclusions that can be drawn from this body of work.
author2 Plomin, Robert Joseph
author_facet Plomin, Robert Joseph
Smith-Woolley, Emily Dawn
author Smith-Woolley, Emily Dawn
spellingShingle Smith-Woolley, Emily Dawn
Exploring individual differences in academic achievement : genetics, personality and the school environment
author_sort Smith-Woolley, Emily Dawn
title Exploring individual differences in academic achievement : genetics, personality and the school environment
title_short Exploring individual differences in academic achievement : genetics, personality and the school environment
title_full Exploring individual differences in academic achievement : genetics, personality and the school environment
title_fullStr Exploring individual differences in academic achievement : genetics, personality and the school environment
title_full_unstemmed Exploring individual differences in academic achievement : genetics, personality and the school environment
title_sort exploring individual differences in academic achievement : genetics, personality and the school environment
publisher King's College London (University of London)
publishDate 2018
url https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.762399
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