Genetics for ‘equality’? The politics of knowledge production in educational genomics

Educational genomics is an emerging field of research that analyses associations between vast samples of human DNA and educational outcomes. I trace how this field navigates a series of old and new methodological problems and political controversies, while attempting to distance itself from the elitist, eugenic, and racist history of genetics in education. Moving away from genetic determinism, its multidisciplinary approach embeds knowledge from the social sciences selectively. In particular, I highlight how microeconomic methodologies and concepts have become salient not only in educational genomic explanations and hypotheses but also in scientists’ political understanding of ‘equality’, reframing past political debates and reimagining governance applications of genetic knowledge. While controversies on the biologisation of social hierarchies persist, the associated debates on human difference, now framed around producing educational ‘equality’, are premised on educational genomics’ contribution to predicting, valuing, and enhancing social human capital.