Impact of family background on children's education unchanged in a century, research reveals

A major new study has shown that the family background of UK children still influences their educational achievements at primary school.

The University of York looked at data from 92,000 individuals born between 1921 and 2011 and found that the achievement gap between children from poor families and their more privileged peers has not changed.

The impact of family background continues and increases throughout the school years, despite the fact that this gap accounted for half a grade difference at primary school level. The effect of family background on school performance is three times worse by the end of the year, according to previous research.

The researchers say that the impact of family background on success in education perpetuates social and economic inequalities. They want educational policies to prioritize equality in learning outcomes for children over equality in opportunities.

The study shows for the first time that despite the efforts of policy makers and educators, children from impoverished background, regardless of when they were born, face the same challenges.

We are calling for educational interventions that ensure the weakest students get the most support, as policies promoting equal learning opportunities only work if all children are equally well prepared to take advantage of them.

For example, we know that children from low-income families tend to start school with less-than-optimal language skills. It is more difficult for them to use the learning opportunities that the school has to offer. In turn, children from impoverished families earn lower grades in primary and secondary school than children from wealthier families.

The study looked at the data from large cohort studies. The link between family status and children's school performance is likely to have been intensified by the Pandemic because it increased inequality in families.

Professor Paul Wakeling from the Department of Education at the University of York was one of the authors of the study. Our findings show how important it is to consider inequalities in earlier years of school. For years to come, the impacts could be felt.

Children growing up in low-income families were disproportionately affected by school closings, with a lack of online learning and suitable learning environments.

Educational interventions that boost early-years and primary school learning for these children have never been more important. The long-term benefits of such interventions are large. Tackling the persistent achievement gap highlighted by our study will be instrumental in reducing overall inequality and therefore hugely beneficial to society as a whole.

There is an association between family status and primary school performance in Britain for 95 years.

More information: Persistent association between family socioeconomic status and primary school performance in Britain over 95 years, npj Science of Learning (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41539-022-00120-3 Citation: Impact of family background on children's education unchanged in a century, research reveals (2022, April 20) retrieved 20 April 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-04-impact-family-background-children-unchanged.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.