Study Might Link Genes to Achievement in Education

[phoenix:\\]

Whether a student graduates high school or achieves a college degree could depend partly on genetic factors beyond their control, according to a national study of thousands of Americans.

In the report, which appears in the July issue of Developmental Psychology, researchers identify three genes -- DAT1, DRD2, and DRD4 -- that are associated with attention regulation, motivation, violence, cognitive skills and intelligence.

"Being able to show that specific genes are related in any way to academic achievement is a big step forward in understanding the developmental pathways among young people," the study's lead author Kevin Beaver said, according to Science Daily. Beaver is a professor at the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University.

Although previous research has investigated links between genes and intelligence, no candidate genes for such a link had yet been identified, according to the study.

Beaver and colleagues examined data from a longitudinal, nationally representative sample of Americans enrolled in middle or high school in 1994 and 1995.

The source of the data is the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, or Add Health. The Add Health study continued until 2008, and the participants provided DNA samples, gave interviews and completed questionnaires in an aim to "assess the health status of adolescents and explore the causes of their health-related behaviors."

The genes linked to educational attainment are dopamine transporter and receptor genes -- although everyone has them in some form, molecular differences in the genes, called alleles, differ from person to person. Certain alleles are associated with higher levels of educational achievement.

The effect of the genes is probabilistic rather than all-or-nothing. The presence of certain alleles raises the likelihood of increased educational attainment but does not insure it.

“No one gene is going to say, ‘Sally will graduate from high school’ or ‘Johnny will earn a college degree,’” Beaver said in a statement.

The possibility that educational outcomes "are under considerable genetic influence," the report concludes, "has evolved from taboo to common acceptance."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/genes_n_1646691.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/release...encedaily+(ScienceDaily:+Latest+Science+News)

Hm..., my knowledge is limited within this area. Are these genes certainly linked to intelligence? Not too long ago I was reading some literature explaining that no single gene (at the time) was a gene that determined intelligence, so this leads me to believe this research is more simplified and could lead to more confusion.

Am I wrong?

 

[neen]

Obviously there is a genetic component to at least a certain degree of intelligence...defining levels of intelligence to the inclusion or exclusion of genes seems nearly impossible to conclusively isolate.

So to answer your question I would say they have found a correlation.

 

[Ken Natton]

This isn’t really a biological issue, it’s a social issue. It’s just another take on the old nature / nuture debate. You always have to be careful not to assume a genetic component or attribute entirely to genetics something that might well, even probably has a strong environmental component. An easy example might be the child of a prominent sportsman that themselves become a high achiever in the same sport. While there very well might be a genetic component to basic ‘sportiness’, and perhaps even a genetic component to specific skills appropriate to a specific sport, still the reason why that child followed their parent into that particular sport is likely to have a strong influence based in the fact that the child grew up among and immersed in the culture and the environment of that particular sport.

So yes, if both parents are highly intelligent, there is a strong likelihood that a child will be similarly of exceptional intelligence. Part of that might be genetic, and part of it might also be attributable to the early stimulation the child receives. But vitally, there are plenty of examples of people that came from backgrounds that both genetically and environmentally seemed to offer little advantage, and yet those people turned out to be high achievers. At one level, this report is one of those that it might be suggested produced a conclusion that was news to no-one. On the other hand, it is the kind of study that might be used by some with an agenda to advantage some and disadvantage others. At that point, I suppose it does become a matter of political viewpoint. For me, whatever the truth about a genetic component to intelligence, it is no justification whatever for placing unnecessary barriers in the way of those judged not to have the favourable genes.