Twins at School: Same or Separate Classrooms?

Education March 12, 2012 / By Nancy L. Segal

SYNOPSIS

Twins classroom placement is a great concern to parents and educators. An argument for parental input into this important decision is made.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself—I am DR Nancy Segal, a Psychology Professor at California State University Fullerton. I am also the Director of the Twin Studies Center at CSU Fullerton. I will be contributing town-related commentaries and news from time to time. Please visit my website for more information about twins and my published and forthcoming books on the subject: drnancysegaltwins.org.

I will begin this blog with a topic of great concern to twins and their families: separate vs. same classrooms.

At the start of each school year, I receive requests from a good number of unhappy parents whose young twins are being placed in separate classrooms. Parents say that despite explaining to school administrators that their twin children work well together, enjoy each other’s company and/or do not wish to enter a new situation on their own, school officials remain unsympathetic. Their reasoning is unusually that twins kept together will fail to develop a sense of individuality. Therefore, I was gratified that parents in Minnesota took it upon themselves to have this policy changed. They did so by engaging the interest and support of a state senator and his legislative assistant who were also parents of twins. The outcome was a new bill that passed unanimously through the Minnesota House (130-0) and Senate (64-0). Since then many other states have passed, or are trying to pass similar legislation; see www.twinslaw.com.

I firmly believe that there should be no single school placement policy for twins, just as there is no single placement policy for non –twins. Interestingly, research shows that when non-twins attend school for the first time with friends, they are more independent and more engaged in activities. No one is concerned that these children will not develop a sense of individuality. There are many options that teachers can exercise if twins stay together, such as having them work in separate groups or sit at separate tables. Often they just need to be aware of where the other one is. This is more common among identical then fraternal twins, but can be true of twins of any type.

I have been a consultant on a number of cases involving identical twins wrongly accused of cheating. Identical twins think alike and process information alike, so when they deliver tests with similar answers, there may be suspicions of cheating on the part of their teachers and professors. This is wrong, as the research shows. However, I would suggest that when twins are in the same class that they sit far apart to avoid even an appearance, of collaboration. More on this topic can be found in the journal TWIN RESEARCH AND HUMAN GENETICS, to which I on a regular basis.

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Author

Nancy L. Segal

Dr. Nancy L. Segal received a B.A. degree in psychology (with distinction) and English literature from Boston University (1973), and M.A. (1974) and Ph.D. (1982) degrees in Social Sciences and Behavioral Sciences from the University of Chicago. She is currently Professor of Psychology at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) and Director of the Twin Studies Center which she founded in 1991. Dr. Segal is the CSUF 2004-5 Distinguished Professor in Humanities and Social Sciences and the 2004-5 Outstanding Professor of the Year. She also received the 2005 James Shields Award for Lifetime Contributions to Twin Research, from the Behavior Genetics Association and International Society for Twin Studies and the 2006 “international Making a Difference” Award from Multiple Births Canada. Dr. Segal is the author of Someone Else’s Twin: The True Story of Babies Switched at Birth (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2011), Indivisible by Two: Lives of Extraordinary Twins (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005) and Entwined Lives: Twins and What They Tell Us About Human Behavior (NY: Dutton, 1999, NY: Plume 2000), and the senior editor of Uniting Psychology and Biology: Integrative Perspectives on Human Development (Washington, D.C.: APA Press, 1997). Her newest book, Born Together-Reared Apart: The Landmark Minnesota Twin Study (Cambridge: Harvard University Press), will be released in May 2012. Dr. Segal received a 2003-2004 American Fellowship from the American Association of University Women for completion of Indivisible by Two. She was also co-principal investigator of a 2003-2005 NIMH supported study “Twins, Virtual Twins and Friends: Peers and Adjustment.” Dr. Segal has authored approximately 120 scientific articles and book chapters in addition to her three books. A recent paper won a 2007 Award for Excellence in Research from the Mensa Foundation. She is also an Associate Editor of Twin Research and Human Genetics, the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies. Dr. Segal’s guest television appearances include the Martha Stewart Show, Good Morning America, 20/20, the Oprah Winfrey Show, Discovery Health and the upcoming series Our America (OWN). Her radio interviews include NPR (Fresh Air, AirTalk, Diane Rehm Show) and numerous local stations. She has been a consultant for the media (National Geographic Magazine), the law (twins’ wrongful death and custody cases) and the arts (theater and film). She frequently addresses both professional and general audiences concerning her work. Her current recent interests include behavioral and physical development of twins, the nature of twins’ social relationships, Korean twins separated at birth. the behavioral development of Chinese twins adopted internationally, the behavioral consequences of twin loss and the personality similarity of unrelated look-alikes.

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