5.2.2: The links between education and social mobility

defining social mobility

• movement between different layers in society

• movement between social classes

• upward/downward

• closed societies

  • provide little opportunity for social mobility

  • ascribed positions

• open societies

  • status is achieved

  • chance of changing position

• types of social mobility:

  1. intragenerational - ‘within’

     • social mobility within a single generation

     • comparing status at two or more points in time

  2. intergenerational - ‘between’

     • social mobility between generations

     • comparing occupational status of kids with parents

     • 2 types:

       • absolute mobility - total amount of social mobility in a society

       • relative mobility - comparative chances of people from different class backgrounds reaching particular positions in the social structure

measuring social mobility

• goldthorpe

• oxford mobility study

  • conducted in 1972

  • provides example of quanitative research using a survey of 10000 men

  • based on a seven class scheme devised by goldthorpe

  • produced data on impact of 1944 education act on achievement and mobility

  • findings:

    • high rates of absolute mobility

      • more upward than downward mobility

      • proportion of non-manual jobs increased

      • chances of working class reaching a higher social class improved

    • british society became more open and meritocratic

      • varying mobility chances between classes

    • mobility as a result of growth of professional occupations as opposed to:

      • increased equality of opportunity

      • reductions in inequalities in life chances

    • no significant chances in the openness of the stratification system

oxford mobility study - problems

1. suggests there was a relatively high rate of mobility into class 1

   • ignores existence of a ruling class

   • small elite groups within class 1 = lower openness

2. ignores women

   • views family as unit of stratification

   • class position based on men

   • male bias - untelling of mobility experiences of women

comparative studies of education and social mobility

• technical difficulties in carrying out studies of social mobility make it difficult to compare international rates of mobility

• similar occupational classification schemes has helped improve this

• breen

• blanden, gregg and machin

• scott

• levels of mobility associated with public expenditure on education

• limited comparisons due to lack of relevant data

functionalist accounts of social mobility

• education systems have a key role in training the future workforce to meet growing demand

• recruitment based on merit

• education determined class position

• claim educational attainment, social class and occupational destinations will grow stronger over time as a response to economic demands

• increasing demand for qualified staff necessitates expansion of education systems and reforms for equality

• ascribed status replaced by achieved status via education

  • = increased social mobility and meritocracy

functionalist accounts of social mobility - criticisms

• focuses on needs and demands of society as a whole rather than individual social actors

• goldthorpe

• brown

neoliberal approaches to social mobility

• new right/neoliberal approach

• focused on giving people from disadvantages backgrounds the chance to compete

neoliberal approaches to social mobility - criticisms

brown

feminist approaches to social mobility

• acker

• prefer an approach of allocating class according to their own jobs

• abrantes and abrantes

• impact of subject choices on future

• segregation of labour markets based on gender

• male dominated sectors more highly paid than female dominated ones

• women = less chance of experiencing income generational mobility