Want your kids to excel at maths? Get a degree yourself !

CHILDREN who have two university-educated parents are the equivalent of a school year ahead in maths, a study has found.

Having parents with a degree gave a bigger boost to a child’s attainment than coming from a wealthy background.

Researchers think attitudes passed on by parents or genetic factors are playing a part in boosting ability in 11-year-olds.

The study was carried out to investigate the factors which affect a child’s maths ability in light of the UK’s ‘alarming’ performance in the subject.

Less than half of working age adults in the UK have the maths skills expected of primary school children, the researchers from Sussex University said.

Danielle Evans and colleagues looked at issues including having emotional problems and whether a good ‘working memory’ boosted maths performance.

They focused on the maths performance of more than 13,000 people born in 1991 based on a series of tests carried out over the years as part of a research prohad gramme called ALSPAC, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Having a higher IQ, coming from a wealthier family and being male all played a role, but the biggest factor was parental education, the study found.

Children whose parents both degrees were a whole year ahead of those whose parents only achieved education to CSE level. The now defunct English educational qualification was the equivalent of a C pass at GCSE, which is itself similar to the Scottish National 5.

Writers of the report, published in Royal Society Open Science, said the findings show that ‘the advantage does not lie within better housing, better schools or monetary resources, but instead may relate to other aspects of parenting such as attitudes towards education, involvement with school activities or helping with homework in a supportive environment’.

More highly educated parents may ‘pass on genetic factors to their children that can contribute to their higher maths attainment, including traits related to increased motivation, intelligence and temperament’, they add.

‘Helping with homework’