Why Kids Do Not Want To Go To School Is Partly Due To Genetics, Study Suggests

A study consisting of 25 co-authors and led by Yulia Kovas, a professor of psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London, say that a genetic predisposition may be behind why some children are not motivated to go to school. The research, which was partially supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development, involved more than 13,000 twins hailing from six countries, discovered that there are approximately 40-50 percent difference in the factors that affect the twins’ motivation.

Study co-author and professor at the Ohio State University Stephen Petrill initially thought that the shared environmental setup where the kids grew up will play a significant role in determining their motivation level. However, he was surprised to find out that these do not play an important role, and that genetics and non-shared environmental factors are more highly contributory.

He further adds that the findings were consistent among all participants around the globe, regardless of the diversity in educational systems and cultures. The results then suggests that we should not be fast in blaming parents, teachers or students for their lack of motivation to teach and learn, as there obviously personality differences linked to this reality and that we have to deal with their differences.

The study, which will be published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences in July 2015, was conducted by separately studying twin siblings aged 9-16 years from Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Russia, Germany and the United States. There were minimal difference in research methodology and questions, but the concept were all the same.

Each student per country were asked to grade how much they like doing school activities, such as reading, writing and spelling. Furthermore, they were asked to self-evaluate their performance in different subjects, by posting statements such as “I know that I will do well in reading next year,” and asking them whether they agree or not. There results for both fraternal and identical twins were studied, in consideration to the fact that fraternal twins share half the the same genes, while identical twins share all their inherited genes. The similarity of answers were noted more in identical twins, which then suggest a stronger genetic link.

“Most personality variables have a genetic component, but to have nearly no shared environment component is unexpected,” Petrill said. “But it was consistent across all six countries.” This does not necessarily mean that there is a specific gene that dictates motivation for learning, rather a combination of complex genetic and environmental factors are at play. “We should absolutely encourage students and motivate them in the classroom. But these findings suggest the mechanisms for how we do that may be more complicated than we had previously thought,” he closes.

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