Motivation for my latest paper:
1.We live in a world where genomic data is increasingly accessible.
2.There is a growing discussion on whether/how it might be relevant to edu.
3.We live in a highly stratified society where racism & classism are entrenched – genetics has been used to validate this
Basic principles of the paper:
1. Genetics is going to intersect with education one way or another
2. Teachers are educational stakeholders
3. Perspectives of teachers are integral to students’ educational outcomes
4. Teacher perspectives adversely impact racially-defined minorities/low-income
Findings:
1. Teachers think genetics plays an important role in a person’s intelligence
2. Teachers also think the environment is important (e.g. parents & home environment)
3. Teachers are anxious about inequitable application of genetics research findings in education
Conclusions:
1. Increase culturally-relevant PD for teachers, make sure they continue to see importance of environment
2. Enact policies that place safeguards around use of genetic data in education to prevent discrimination
3. Increase collaborations between researchers, policy makers, & educators
Access the paper here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0034523719869956