Growing up among bright books and generous genes: The InterGenerational cycle of educational achievement

Project Information

InterGen

Grant agreement ID: 101076726

DOI

10.3030/101076726

EC signature date 30 June 2023

Start date 1 September 2023

End date 31 August 2028

Funded under

• European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 663 193,00

EU contribution

€ 1 663 193,00

Coordinated by

STICHTING VU
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - InterGen (Growing up among bright books and generous genes: The InterGenerational cycle of educational achievement)

Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2026-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Why do some children find learning easy while others struggle, even when growing up in similar homes and schools? InterGen investigates how genes and environments jointly shape children’s learning and achievement across generations. The project focuses on reading, mathematics, and behaviour, including neurodevelopmental conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and ADHD.
Using large-scale twin, family, and genomic data from the Netherlands and Norway, InterGen aims to disentangle the complex intergenerational links between parents’ and children’s education. Its five work packages combine cutting-edge behaviour-genetic models, extended family and register data, and new online assessments in Dutch twin families. The expected impact is a deeper scientific understanding of why educational inequalities persist and practical insights that can inform education and mental-health policy.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During its first two years, InterGen achieved major progress across all work packages.

* Analyses of Norwegian register and cohort data (N ≈ 600 000) revealed that parental education relates to children’s school achievement largely through genetic transmission, with smaller parental and extended-family environmental effects.

* A complementary Nature Human Behaviour paper showed that genetic influences on children’s education extend beyond the nuclear family, reflecting broader social processes.

* Methodological advances include the first empirical use of the new iAM-CoTS model and simulation studies on cultural transmission and sibling interaction.

* Preparations for the Dutch TwinWise data collection produced two successful adult pilot studies, open-access materials (Kuijper et al., 2025), and ethical approval for a school-based child pilot.

* The ERC team grew to include a PhD student, postdoc, assistant professor, and research assistant, creating strong interdisciplinary capacity across genetics, education, and psychology.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

InterGen pushes research on learning and education beyond traditional nature-versus-nurture debates. By integrating twin-family, genomic, and register approaches, the project provides one of the most comprehensive tests to date of intergenerational educational inequality. Its findings clarify how genetic and environmental pathways operate within and beyond the family, offering a framework for understanding why educational success “runs in families.”
Methodologically, InterGen advances open, reproducible science through new simulation tools, extended-family modelling, and large-scale online cognitive assessments. The results already influence interdisciplinary discussions in education, psychiatry, and population health, helping to guide more realistic and equitable strategies to support children’s learning.

Image description: Diagram illustrating how InterGen studies the interplay of genes and environments