Cumulative Inequalities over the Life-Course: Life-long Learning and Social Mobility in Britain

an article by Erzsébet Bukodi (University of Oxford, UK) published in Journal of Social Policy Volume 46 Issue 2 (April 2017)

Abstract

This paper examines the possibility that life-long learning promotes intergenerational class mobility. The following two research questions are asked.

• Is it the case that further education provides individuals coming from less advantaged origins with a second chance to improve on their educational attainment?
• Is it the case that the returns to further qualifications, in terms of chances of upward class career mobility, are greater for children from less advantaged backgrounds than for children from more advantaged backgrounds?

The analyses – that are based on the complete educational and class histories of men and women in a British birth cohort – mainly produce negative findings. Children coming from managerial and professional backgrounds seem to benefit most from further education.

More specifically, further education appears to be an effective means of career advancement for individuals of managerial and professional origins who start out in their working lives in relatively low-level class positions. Via further education they can increase or update their qualifications, and in turn enhance their chances of being counter-mobile back to their class of origin.

Overall, based on the findings of this paper, we can conclude that qualifications attained through life-long learning primarily serve to maintain, rather than to narrow, inequalities attached to social origins in Britain.

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The Influence of Social Background on Participation in Adult Education: Applying the Cultural Capital Framework

an article by Sebastiano Cincinnato, Bram De Wever, Hilde Van Keer and Martin Valcke (Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium) published in Adult Education Quarterly Volume 66 Number 2 (May 2016)

Abstract

In this article, we address the issue of participation in adult education building on the cultural capital framework. This theoretical framework suggests that (educational) practices are affected by one’s social background and, more precisely, by the cultural resources handed down in the family context.

To examine the validity of this theoretical framework, we build on data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies from 23 countries (n = 120,789). The Programme data allow using the variables parents’ educational level (a proxy for social background), educational attainment, and readiness to learn as precursors of participation in adult education (both a proxy for cultural capital).

Our findings suggest that the cultural capital framework is not fully suited to explain participation in adult education: Although social background has an (indirect) influence on participation, its effect does not concur with theoretical predictions, that is, mediated by the readiness to learn.

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Social mobility or social reproduction? A case study of the attainment patterns of students according to their social background and ethnicity

an article by Matthew Collins (Lichfield Cathedral School, Staffordshire, UK), Gemma Collins (University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK) and Graham Butt (Oxford Brookes University, UK) published in Educational Review Volume 67 Issue 2 (April 2015)

Abstract

This paper explores levels of achievement amongst boys who attended a selective school in Birmingham, UK through consideration of their attainment, social background and ethnicity.

It seeks to answer three main questions.

Firstly, to what extent does academic attainment vary between students from different socio-economic groups and ethnic backgrounds?

Secondly, what are the possible reasons for these variations?

Thirdly, what can selective schools do to close the gaps in attainment between these groups?

The research study sought to determine whether different groups of boys in the case study school experienced social mobility, or social reproduction, as a consequence of the education they received.

Using quantitative data of student attainment (n = 625), combined with information on their residential location, areas of comparatively low achievement across the city of Birmingham were mapped. Spatial data for levels of deprivation and ethnicity were also considered. The resulting map identifies areas of high vulnerability (HV) to poor performance, specifically by identifying the postcodes of neighbourhoods containing students who are most likely to underachieve.

Qualitative data was gathered amongst students (n = 121) who were embarking on their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) studies. All were asked to identify factors that might affect their academic performance. These findings were then cross-referenced with the postcode study to help analyse possible reasons for underachievement.

The main finding of this research was that the study school experiences a distance-decay effect in relation to examination success. Boys from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups generally performed worse than White British (WB) boys, while students from deprived areas of the city were also less likely to succeed. Students from poorer communities tend to live in environments of relatively low aspiration, although one inner city area was identified as anomalous with regard to the achievements of its students.

We conclude that social reproduction, rather than social mobility, is occurring within the case study school and suggest a range of initiatives to raise the levels of achievement of those who are most socially disadvantaged.

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Participation In Higher Education: Aspirations, Attainment And Social Background

an article by Paul Croll (University of Reading, UK) and Gaynor Attwood (University of the West of England, Bristol, UK) published in British Journal of Educational Studies Volume 61 Issue 2 (June 2013)

Abstract

The recent report of the Milburn Review into Social Mobility* highlights the under-representation of young people from lower socio-economic groups in higher education and encourages universities and others to act to remedy this situation as a contribution to greater social mobility.

The paper uses data from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England to examine the relationship between social background, attainment and university participation. The results show that differences in school-level attainment associated with social background are by far the most important explanation for social background differences in university attendance.

However, there remains a small proportion of the participation gap that is not accounted for by attainment. It is also the case that early intentions for higher education participation are highly predictive of actual participation.

The results suggest that although there may be some scope for universities to act to improve participation by people from less advantaged backgrounds, a much more important focus of action is on improving the school-level achievement of these students.

* University Challenge: How Higher Education Can Advance Social Mobility (October 2012)

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