Study examines sibling similarities in doctoral education, academic careers

A new open-access study published in the August 2022 edition of Higher Education explores the impact of family background on PhD attainment. Previous studies have indicated that family background plays a role in selection into undergraduate education, the authors explain, but fewer studies have examined the role of background factors in graduate education. The study estimated sibling correlations from the Finnish population and found that family background accounts for over a third of the overall variation becoming a PhD and, later, an academic. The authors called for a deeper understanding on how families foster educational performance in order to both better understand the phenomenon, and to manage these family factors and ensure access to a career in higher education. Higher Education (Article) Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.