Social Mobility
Social mobility is movement up or down the social class hierarchy, either within a person's own lifetime or between generations of the same family.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Define social mobility as movement up or down the class hierarchy, then split it immediately into intragenerational (within one person's working life) and intergenerational (compared with parents).
- Learn the difference between absolute mobility, the total amount of movement, which can be driven by a changing occupational structure, and relative mobility, comparative chances between class backgrounds, which tests how open the system really is.
- Learn the concept of meritocracy and why sociologists question it: even where absolute mobility rises, relative mobility can stay low if children from higher-class backgrounds retain a much better chance of reaching the top than children from lower-class backgrounds.
- Identify named barriers to mobility from different perspectives, for example cultural/material deprivation limiting working-class children's educational chances, or a Marxist view that capitalism structurally needs a large working class, so cannot be fully meritocratic.
- When a question gives you two generations' occupational data, compare like with like (same individual's parent versus the individual) and state clearly whether the movement is upward, downward or stable, and whether it is intra- or intergenerational.
- For 'discuss how meritocratic Britain is' questions, plan a paragraph of evidence for openness (e.g. rising absolute mobility, or middle-class expansion), a paragraph of evidence against (e.g. persistent class gaps in relative mobility, private education), and a supported conclusion.
Worked example
A woman starts her career in a routine clerical job (Social Class D) and is promoted over 15 years into a senior management role (Social Class A). Her father worked as a labourer (Social Class E) throughout his life. Identify one example of intragenerational mobility and one example of intergenerational mobility in this scenario, explaining your choice for each.
- Look for movement within one person's own working life: the woman moving from Class D to Class A over her career is a change in her own class position during her working life.
- Label this correctly: this is intragenerational mobility, because it compares an individual's class at two points in their own life, not across generations.
- Look for a comparison across generations: the woman's final class (A) compared with her father's class (E) compares two generations of the same family.
- Label this correctly: this is intergenerational mobility, because it compares a person's class position with that of a parent.
- Note both are examples of upward mobility, since in each comparison the later class position is higher than the earlier one.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Define social mobility.Show answer
Answer: Movement up or down the social class hierarchy, either within an individual's own life or between generations of the same family.
Q2Define intragenerational mobility.Show answer
Answer: A change in an individual's own social class position during their own working life.
Q3Define intergenerational mobility.Show answer
Answer: A comparison of a person's social class position with that of their parents.
Q4What is the difference between absolute mobility and relative mobility?Show answer
Answer: Absolute mobility is the total amount of movement in a society, which can rise simply because the occupational structure has changed; relative mobility is the comparative chances of people from different class backgrounds reaching a given class position, which shows how open the system really is.
Q5What is meant by a 'meritocratic' society?Show answer
Answer: One in which a person's social position depends on their own ability and effort rather than on the social class they were born into.
Q6Give one reason why absolute mobility in the UK rose during the 20th century even without the class system becoming much more open in relative terms.Show answer
Answer: The occupational structure changed, with many more professional and managerial jobs created than existed in earlier generations, so more people could move up simply because there was more room at the top, even if children from higher-class backgrounds still had a much better relative chance of reaching those jobs.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Sociology exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two differences between absolute social mobility and relative social mobility.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 6 available
Discuss the view that Britain is a meritocratic society, where a person's social class position mainly depends on their own ability and effort. Use sociological evidence in your answer.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 12 available
See real GCSE Sociology past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the social mobility worksheet pack - 10 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
Next topics
Not quite what you needed?
Tell us what is missing on social mobility, or which topic to write up next. Every request is read, and we reply to every one.
Build a full practice pack.
This topic is one of hundreds in the library - pick the ones a student needs and generate a printable PDF in minutes.