Societies increasingly succeed based upon the skills and knowledge of their citizens.  This was perhaps most memorably captured in former British prime minister Tony Blair’s priorities prior to entering office as ‘education, education, education’.  Many of the policies implemented by the Blair government revolved around the school itself however, with funding raised and various policies implemented to try and make schooling better.

Education doesn’t begin and end at the school gates however, and a recent study from the University of Warwick highlights the vital role parents and the family structure play in the educational attainment of children.

The researchers examined educational attainment across a number of countries to explore what factors might explain some of the differences found, with a particular focus on the role parents play, over and above their socio-economic status.

Cultural support

The answer is a lot, and indeed the study suggests it’s around twice as much as previously thought.  They go on to reveal that much of this influence is rooted in cultural factors, which help to underpin the attitude of parents towards education.

The finding emerged after analyzing the school performance of second-generation immigrants, having taken account of influences such as income, education and job of the parents themselves.

It emerged that students whose parents came from countries who in turn perform well in the PISA education tests performed better at school than their peers, both from the same country and the same school.  This was especially so when the parents themselves had little formal education.

The phenomenon does appear to have a shelf-life however, with it wearing off over time, which suggests that the native culture influences children the more they’re engrossed in it.

“It seems that most of cross-nationalities differences come from deep cultural factors, not directly influenced by the educational system parents were exposed to,” the authors explain.  “This is important for policy-makers who want to raise their students’ performance in tests like PISA. Our research suggests that policies which replicate school practices in high-achieving countries without addressing these cultural factors may have smaller than expected effects.”

Whilst it may be difficult to change or influence such deep-rooted cultural traits, it should nonetheless help policy makers have a deeper understanding of the factors involved in underpinning educational attainment.  This in turn might help them to craft better policies to try and increase that level of attainment consistently across society.