Genetics or environment? What weighs more when learning to read ? According to a new study by scientists at Florida State University (USA) and published in the journal Science , quality teaching allows children's natural reading skills to emerge. However, in classrooms with "bad" teachers, all students are uniformly low, regardless of genetics.
To demonstrate this, Jeanette Taylor and her colleagues studied 280 identical twins (who share 100% of their genes) and 526 pairs of bivitelline or distinct twins (who statistically share 50% of their genes) in Florida elementary schools. They recorded their results in Oral Reading Fluency Tests at the beginning and end of the course, and compared them with those of their peers. And in this way they were able to clarify which part of their differences were due to genetic factors, which to environmental factors that the children shared, and which to environmental factors of siblings in separate classrooms.
The results clearly showed that variations in test scores due to genetic differences were greater in classes with good teachers. And therefore, the researchers conclude, that "genes and the environment interact in such a way that the quality of teaching is what prevents or allows children to reach their natural potential as readers ."
