Full Description
Despite becoming a big issue in public debate, social mobility is one of the most misunderstood processes of our time. In this accessible and engaging text, Geoff Payne, one of Britain's leading mobility analysts, presents up-to-date sociological research evidence to demonstrate how our politicians have not grasped the ways in which mobility works. The new social mobility argues for considering a wider range of dimensions of mobility and life chances, notably the workings of the labour market, to assess more accurately the causes and consequences of mobility as social and political processes. Bringing together a range of literature and research, it covers key themes of mobility analysis, and offers a critical and original approach to social mobility. This important book will challenge the well-established opinions of politicians, pressure groups, the press, academics and the public; it is also sufficiently comprehensive to be suitable for teaching and of interest to a broad academic audience.
Contents
Introducing the Confusing World of Social Mobility;
'There's a Lot of it About';
Log Cabins and Field-Marshals' Batons;
The Political Re-discovery of Social Mobility;
Documenting Mobility;
Tracing the Origins;
Why low, why now?;
The Pessimism of Older Academic Mobility Analysis;
The Emergence of a New Society;
The New Mobility Regime;
Misconceptions of Schooling and Meritocracy;
Tightening Bonds and Professional Access;
Moving On;
References;
Tables and Figures.
