This book explores higher education, social class and social mobility from the point of view of those most intimately involved: the undergraduate students. It is based on a project which followed a cohort of young undergraduate students at Bristol's two universities in the UK through from their first year of study for the following three years, when most of them were about to enter the labour market or further study. The students were paired by university, by subject of study and by class background, so that the fortunes of middle-class and working-class students could be compared. Narrative data gathered over three years are located in the context of a hierarchical and stratified higher education system, in order to consider the potential of higher education as a vehicle of social mobility.
Jessie Abrahams is a PhD student in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, UK.
Ann-Marie Bathmaker is Professor of Vocational and Higher Education at the University of Birmingham, UK.
Harriet Bradley is Professor of Women's Employment at the University of the West of England, UK and Professor Emerita at Bristol University, UK.
Tony Hoare was Director of Research in Widening Participation, University of Bristol, UK, from 2006 till 2015.
Nicola Ingram is Lecturer in Education and Social Justice at Lancaster University, UK.
Dr Richard Waller is Associate Professor of the Sociology of Education at the University of the West of England, UK.
"Higher Education, Social Class and Social Mobility. The Degree Generation presents a fascinating account of an original and ambitious research project. While drawing on relevant theory, it is written in an accessible manner and engages closely with the policy context. As such, it deserves to be read widely - not only by those conducting research in this area but also by policymakers and all of us who work in higher education who have an interest in promoting social equality." (Rachel Brooks, British Journal of Educational Studies, December 16, 2018)
"This book is a welcome and very timely contribution to our understanding of the complex relationship between social mobility and higher education in England. ? The Bourdieusian conceptual schema is a key theoretical underpinning of the book, with the research drawing extensively upon the concepts of habitus, capital and field." (Andrew Morrison, International Studies in Sociology of Education, Vol. 26 (03), October, 2017)
"Bathmaker et al. present a fascinating piece of scholarship. ? this is an elegant read and a book that is thought provoking in all the right ways." (Garth Stahl, International Studies in Sociology of Education, Vol. 26 (03), October, 2017)
