The new study, which is part of the ASPIRES research project studying young people’s career aspirations, draws on insights from over 200 longitudinal interviews conducted with working class young people and their parents over an eleven-year period, from the ages of 10-21 years old.
The research team observed that most of the young people who became first in their family to access higher education had benefitted from “luck” that opened up opportunities that they could use to achieve socially mobile outcomes. The analyses challenge popular views that attribute social mobility to meritocracy and individual agency, talent or “grit”.
65% of the young people in the study became the first in their family to go to university. Meanwhile 30% young people achieved similar educational levels to their parents, while the educational trajectory of the remaining 5% could not be categorised into one of these two groups. The two groups were fairly similar in terms of their demographics, family backgrounds and levels of attainment.
Most of the ‘first in family’ young people described experiencing instances of good luck, for instance when a teacher or mentor had unexpectedly provided significant help that had gone “above and beyond”. These teachers offered personalised help and support, often over many years, that significantly facilitated access to university – something that most participants felt would not have happened otherwise.
