Parental Profession More Than Education Predicts Student Success, Study Finds

A new study by the Taub Center for Social and Economic Policy reveals that parents' professions are more than twice as influential as their educational attainment in predicting their children's academic achievement. The research indicates that parental occupations account for approximately 45% of the explained achievement gaps, while parental education explains only about 21%.

The study, titled "Not Just Parental Education - The Link Between Parental Occupation and Children's Achievements," analyzed data from 10,336 15-year-old students who took the international PISA tests in Hebrew between 2012 and 2022. The findings showed a significant correlation between students' performance in reading, math, and science and their parents' jobs.

Specifically, children of fathers working in science and technology fields demonstrated particularly high achievements. Children whose fathers were employed in academia, science, and research scored about 7.3% higher, while those whose fathers worked in technology, information, and software scored about 6.8% higher. Similar advantages were observed for children of fathers in advanced engineering, finance, accounting, economics, health, and medicine.

In contrast, children of mothers working in certain education roles showed lower academic performance. Children of mothers employed as early childhood educators scored about 4.6% lower than a baseline group, and children of teaching assistants scored about 2.2% lower. The researchers emphasized that the study identifies a correlation, not necessarily a causal relationship, for mothers' occupations in these fields.

Professor Ilan Katchi, Vice President of the Taub Center and a co-author of the study, stated, "The findings show that to understand a student's starting point, it is not enough to know their parents' education. Their place in the world of work is also significantly related to their achievements, and in our study, parental occupations are even more prominent than education in explaining the gaps." He added that the education system's role is to reduce the link between family background and student achievement to promote equal opportunities and intergenerational mobility.