Genes ‘influence learning skills’

Teachers should accept that children differ genetically in how and how much they can learn and move towards more personalised learning, according to researchers.

Academics at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry studied 4,400 sets of 12-year-old identical and fraternal twins, examining test results in English, maths and science.

The researchers, led by Claire Haworth, found the identical twins did more similarly than the fraternal twins, with nature and nurture both influential factors. The report said the results were “striking” and showed that achievement was “significantly influenced by genetic factors”.

The authors, who published their results on open access scientific journal PloS One, wrote: “The pervasiveness of genetic differences among children suggests the need to re-examine the role of education.

“Instead of thinking about education as a way of counter-­­ing genetic differences among children, the field of education might profit from accepting that children differ genetically in how and how much they learn.”