A student’s confidence in their academic abilities and the educational background of their parents, particularly mothers, are key predictors of their academic success, according to new research published in Personality and Individual Differences. Analyzing data from over hundreds of thousands of students across 79 countries, the study provides new insights into the intricate dynamics of educational achievement.
For decades, the debate on what determines a student’s intelligence and academic proficiency has been vigorous and, at times, controversial. Past research has pointed towards a blend of heritable, biological components and environmental influences. However, there has been less agreement on the specific environmental factors involved.
This ambiguity extends to how best to enhance intelligence quotient (IQ), especially among socially disadvantaged groups. With such a wide range of variables in play – including familial background, school environment, and personal attitudes – the study aimed to bring clarity to this complex issue.
For their study, the researchers analyzed data from around 600,000 fifteen-year-old students who participated in the 2018 PISA – a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in member and non-member nations intended to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15-year-old school pupils’ scholastic performance on mathematics, science, and reading. The students completed tests in these three subjects, and the results were later converted into equivalent intelligence quotient (IQ) scores for a more nuanced analysis.
“I have long been interested in IQ and knew about this wonderful data set,” said study author Adrian Furnham, a professor at BI Norwegian Business School.
Apart from the academic tests, the study also focused on a range of psychological measures. These included parental education levels, student attitudes towards their teachers, self-assessed academic competence, perceived parental support, school motivation, self-esteem, and self-determination. Each of these factors was evaluated using specially designed scales consisting of several items, where students responded on a scale from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.”
Self-assessed academic competence, particularly in reading (e.g. “I am able to understand difficult texts”), was the strongest predictor of PISA scores. This implies that students who have a higher self-perception of their academic abilities tend to perform better academically. The study found that this factor alone accounted for a significant portion of the variance in PISA scores.
The findings suggest that “most 15-year-olds have a pretty good insight into their abilities,” Furnham said.
Another critical determinant identified was the educational level of parents, especially mothers. The study found that maternal education level had a notable predictive power over the students’ PISA scores. This suggests that a mother’s education level, possibly indicative of the intellectual environment at home and the value placed on education, significantly impacts a child’s academic achievement. It also hints at the genetic component of intelligence, as parental IQ could influence both the parents’ educational attainment and, in turn, that of their children.
Interestingly, the perceived quality of teaching and overall self-esteem were not as closely linked to PISA scores as other factors. This challenges some prevalent beliefs regarding the impact of teaching quality and self-esteem on academic achievement. “Many factors determine success at school. Parental education, often a function of intelligence, is a major factor and school much less so,” Furnham said.
Furthermore, the study shed light on the nuanced roles of parental support and self-esteem. While these factors were significantly associated with student motivation and determination, they were less directly correlated with PISA scores. In contrast, self-determination, which relates to achievement motivation and conscientiousness, was significantly associated with higher scores.
This study stands out for its scale and its attempt to integrate various factors to better understand academic success. Despite its extensive scope, however, the study is not without limitations. One of the primary limitations was the reliance on self-reported data, which can introduce biases.
Furthermore, the study did not account for several other potentially influential factors, such as the type and size of the school, the actual competence and experience of the teachers, or the personal characteristics of the students, like whether they had siblings or had changed schools. These omissions suggest areas for future research to explore. “I have been particularly interested in the relationship between personality, school success, and intelligence,” Furnham said.
The study, “The role of parents, teachers, and pupils in IQ test scores: Correlates of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) from 74 countries“, was authored by Adrian Furnham and Helen Cheng.
