New study investigates how learning inequalities develop during primary school

A new study published in Social Forces by LCDS researcher Kim Stienstra examines how inequalities in children’s educational performance develop over the course of primary education.

The study asks whether early learning differences between pupils are reproduced, accumulated, or compensated as children progress through school. Using reading comprehension and mathematics test scores from more than 4,000 twin pairs in the Netherlands Cohort Study on Education, the research investigates the genetic and environmental sources underlying differences in learning trajectories.

The findings show that much of the inequality in educational achievement is already present at the start of schooling. These initial differences are somewhat compensated over time, particularly in mathematics. However, new sources of difference also emerge during primary education, meaning that overall systematic inequality in achievement increases as children move through school.
 

The study highlights that learning inequality is not only about where children start, but also about how quickly they learn once they are in school.

Commenting on the research, Kim Stienstra said: “We often assume inequalities widen because initial advantages accumulate. But the data show something different. Early achievement gaps become smaller during primary education. Yet at the same time, new gaps in how fast children learn, and these are mainly genetic. Starting position remains the dominant source of inequality, but the growth in inequality is driven by diverging learning speeds.”

The research contributes to debates about educational inequality by combining longitudinal data with a twin design, allowing genetic, shared environmental, and non-shared environmental sources of learning differences to be examined together. Stienstra clarifies: “‘Genetic’ does not mean a child’s educational success is fixed or predetermined. In a relatively uniform context like the Netherlands, genetic differences become more apparent precisely because environmental variation is minimized. Moreover, these genetic estimates also capture more complex mechanisms, such as gene-environment correlations and interactions”.

The paper, “The development of inequality during primary education: investigating the genetic and environmental sources underlying learning differences”, is published in Social Forces. Read the paper here: https://academic.oup.com/sf/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sf/soag077/8715785