Studies/Experiments! Flashcards
Describe the Aim, Key Features, Results and Evaluation of “The Oxford Mobility Study” by Goldthorpe.
Aim: To see if results had changed since Glass’ study.
Sample: 10,000 men in England in Wales. Women NOT INCLUDED.
Method: Interviews. Goldthorpe allocated men to SEVEN SOCIAL CLASSES based on Market Situation and Work Situation. He used Two Measures:
Absolute Mobility- How much total movement there was between classes, up or down. If we live in a meritocracy there should be lots of movement up and down the hierarchy.
Relative Mobility- What are a persons chances to move from the bottom to the top?
Findings:
- Most mobility was short range and not long range.
- There was lots of absolute mobility, but relative mobility rates were low.
- Downward mobility appeared to be declining, but more men from working class backgrounds were unemployed.
Conclusion: Long range social mobility rates had increased in the UK after WW2, suggesting that class categories and society had become more open. However it is suggested that this increase could be due to changes in the occupational structure of the UK, different areas of employment are growing and shrinking. More room at the top class jobs meant a lot of middle class and working class employment.
Evaluation: No women involved in study, other studies have shown results for women are drastically different.
Describe the Method, Results, and Evaluation of Blandon et al’s study.
Method: They divided the population into quartiles based on income. Data was collected in 7 countries across Europe and North America.
Results: There was less upward mobility in 1970 than in 1958. Intergenerational mobility and equality of opportunity have therefore fallen in Britain. This change was not found in other countries. For example in the USA upward mobility had increased over time. Britain had one of the lowest mobility rates across the 8 countries.
Evaluate:
+Provided evidence that Mobility is falling for Men.
-Only looked at Males.
