Send Your Grandparents to University so You do Well at School

Hancock, Mitrou, Povey, Campbell and Zubrick (2018) found that the education of both parents and grandparents is correlated with the numeracy and reading levels of children. Assuming this is a causal relationship and not just a correlation (which the study design could not test for), this finding could help explain the lack of success with many programs designed to reduce disadvantage. Programs may need to run for two generations, helping children and then those children's children, to have a discernible effect. Many programs last only a few years and so would not help the second generation.

Reference

Hancock, K. J., Mitrou, F., Povey, J., Campbell, A., & Zubrick, S. R. (2018). Educational inequality across three generations in Australia. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 53(1), 34-55. URL https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.33