Intergenerational Mobility and Higher Education Internationally: a comparative perspective

This research aims to further our knowledge of how higher education can, more effectively, operate as an engine for social mobility by learning from the successes and failures of social mobility policies in different higher education systems across the world.

Social mobility remains a key challenge for both the UK and US. Despite successive governments stating a clear desire to improve social mobility and putting in place bodies to promote this, the 2020 Global Social Mobility Index ranked the UK and US in 21st and 27th positions, respectively. This indicates that there is much work to be done for a more equitable future.

Higher education provides an important route to intergenerational social mobility, with universities having the potential to support greater access and success for students from low-income backgrounds and other marginalised groups. Nevertheless, there is now a considerable body of work to indicate that – despite their potential – universities are often failing in this endeavour. UK data, for example, show that the universities that perform best with respect to graduate outcomes often have very few students from low-income backgrounds. The picture is, however, complex, with some UK institutions performing well with respect to both the labour market destinations of their students and the recruitment of a more diverse student body.

Given this picture, it is now more important than ever to take an international and comparative perspective to learn from the successes and failures of social mobility policies in different higher education systems – to further our knowledge of how education can, more effectively, operate as an engine for social mobility. Through focussing on four countries with higher rates of social mobility than the UK and US (Australia, Canada, Denmark and Japan) and two countries with lower rates (China and Greece), and complementing this with an analysis of social mobility across OECD countries (using the OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills), the research will generate a robust evidence base upon which to produce a series of insightful and actionable learnings. These will help improve intergenerational mobility through education in both the US and UK.