Skip to content
Skip to main content

About this free course

Become an OU student

Download this course

Share this free course

Lottery of birth
Lottery of birth

Start this free course now. Just create an account and sign in. Enrol and complete the course for a free statement of participation or digital badge if available.

6.1 Social mobility – growing or shrinking?

Looking back at your own childhood, do you think there was greater social mobility (defined as the link between a person’s occupation or income and the occupation or income of their parents) when you were growing up than there is today?

Described image
Figure 13

In the UK social mobility has, officially, stagnated making current widespread pessimism about the level of social mobility seemingly justified (Social Mobility Commission, 2018).

Activity 4

Think about your own experiences of social mobility where you live.

  • Do you think that that social mobility has stagnated or is increasing or decreasing?
  • What evidence do you have of that?
  • What, if anything, is being done in your part of the world specifically about social mobility?
To use this interactive functionality a free OU account is required. Sign in or register.
Interactive feature not available in single page view (see it in standard view).