What is the secret of social mobility? How and why do some working class young people “go against the grain” to succeed educationally?
Our recent ASPIRES study, based at UCL, found that luck seems to play a key role in creating opportunities for social mobility.
The study draws on insights from over 200 longitudinal interviews conducted with 20 working class young people and 22 of their parents over an 11-year period, from age 10-21. Thirteen of the sample became the first in their family to go to university, while six young people achieved similar educational levels to their parents (a further young person’s status was less clear cut). The two groups were fairly similar in terms of their demographics, family backgrounds and levels of attainment.
We didn’t begin our study intending to focus on the role of luck. Ironically, it emerged unexpectedly during data analysis, when we identified significant experiences or events within participants’ lives that could not be easily explained by our existing theoretical framework.
