We live in an age of rapidly advancing genetic research which is generating knowledge that has implications across social domains and for intelligence research. The present study assessed the level of genetic knowledge and views on heritability in a large sample (N = 5404) of participants using the recently developed International Genetic Literacy and Attitudes Survey (iGLAS). The results showed significant group differences in genetic knowledge between different professions. Overall, genetic knowledge was poor. The questions were designed to assess basic genetic literacy. However, only 1.2% of participants answered all 18 questions correctly, and the average score was 65.5%. The genetic knowledge of teachers was found to be slightly lower than average at 61.8%. This is a concern. Educational genomic research is becoming more precise and informative and will have an increasing influence on pedagogy.
Additionally, participants were asked to estimate the heritability of “Intelligence” and School Achievement” by estimating the relative influence of genes and environments on a scale of 0 to 100. Established heritability estimates have been reported for intelligence at 50% (Kovas et alt., 2013) and school achievement at 57% (Rimfeld et al., 2015). Participants tended to overestimate the heritability of intelligence (58%) but underestimated the heritability of school achievement (37%). Furthermore, for intelligence, 1.7% of participants (N = 87) selected 0: indicating a belief that there were no genetic influences at all. 4.6% of participants (N = 239) felt that intelligence was entirely genetic with no environmental influences (responding 100%). For school achievement the figures were 6.3% (N = 308) and 1.1% (N = 51) respectively. Further analyses compared heritability estimates for intelligence and school achievement across different professions: university academics, legal practitioners, medical doctors, clerical staff and school teachers. All groups overestimated the heritability of intelligence but underestimated the heritability of school achievement. There were no significant differences between groups for heritability estimates of intelligence. For school achievement, university academics (M = 34.08, SD = 23.06) differed significantly from medical doctors (M = 41.23, SD = 23.93) at the p<.001 level, with a moderate effect size (Cohen’s D = .30).
The results of this exploratory study identify that genetic knowledge is poor. The public have demonstrated confusion around heritability and the relative influence of genes and environments on complex traits. Genetics should be included as part of the curriculum for initial teacher training, and in continued professional development across all levels of education. This will result in a cascading effect, with knowledge reaching children, parents, and society at large.
