As researchers learn more about the genes that shape a child’s development – including traits of interest to parents and educators – these discoveries must not distract from the essential need for well-crafted policy and determined teachers in the collective task of educating the next generation, Stanford scholars say.
In a new paper published Feb. 20 in AERA Open, Graduate School of Education’s Benjamin Domingue Sam Trejo discuss what recent developments in genetics research will mean for parents, educators and policymakers. They say that while genetics can provide valuable insight into human development and behavior – research might one day offer information about ADHD, dyslexia and other learning differences – environments also have immense effects for how a child grows, independent of genetic makeup. This, they urge, must not be ignored.
Here, Domingue, an assistant professor and a faculty fellow at the Stanford Center for Population Health Sciences, and Trejo, a graduate student whose focus is on education, health, genetics and social policy, talk to Stanford News Service about genetics research and education.
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