The success paradox : why we need a holistic theory of social mobility / Graeme Atherton.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed January 21, 2016).

Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-203) and index.

This work provides an alternative, original vision of social mobility and a route-map to achieving it. It examines how the term 'social mobility' structures what success means and the impact that has on society. Providing a new holistic approach that encompasses education, the economy and politics, Atherton recasts the relationship with employers, embracing radical opportunities provided by technology and rethinking what higher education means. He also goes beyond employment to incorporate progress in non-work areas of life.

Intro -- THE SUCCESS PARADOX -- Contents -- List of figures and tables -- Figures -- Tables -- About the author -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- A convenient truth -- The meaning of social mobility -- The role of education -- The importance of social mobility -- The 'success paradox' -- The rest of this book -- 1. The need for a holistic theory of social mobility -- Introduction -- Social mobility is contributing to dramatic rises in inequality -- Social mobility depends on jobs that are not there -- Another war that Labour should never have fought? -- Does social mobility lead to a better life? -- Holistic social mobility -- 2. Social mobility: rising, falling or staying the same -- Introduction -- Pitirim Sorokin and the meaning of 'stratification' -- David Glass and the dominance of class -- Michael Young, meritocracy, industrialism and historicism -- John Goldthorpe and the importance of measurement -- Absolute versus relative social mobility -- Searching for consensus -- The entry of the economists -- The UK, the 'sick man' of social mobility -- The constant flux -- Is inequality a problem? -- Conclusions -- 3. Unpicking the political consensus on social mobility -- Introduction -- Social mobility and New Labour -- Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission -- Social mobility, politics and the 2010s -- Conclusions -- 4. Going beyond attainment -- Introduction -- Home, school and the 'early years' evangelists -- The rise of 'hyper-parenting' -- Pierre Bourdieu, Raymond Boudon, parenting and cultural capital -- Schooling and confusion over character -- The return of the classical curriculum -- Are 21st-century skills solving or adding to the problem? -- Is there more to school than attainment? -- The vocational problem -- Education for holistic social mobility -- Conclusions.

5. Unbundling, diversification and the ecological university: new models for higher education -- Introduction -- Access to higher education -- The first case for higher education -- The second case for higher education -- Beyond access and the battle for the soul of higher education -- Imagination and the role of higher education -- Disruptive forces and massive open online courses -- A pedagogy for holistic social mobility -- The 'unbundling' of higher education -- Conclusions -- 6. The shape of the labour market: hourglass, diamond or molecule? -- The 'hourglass economy' -- The shape and size of the hourglass(es) -- The need for low-skilled work -- The nature of work' -- 'The meaning of work -- Conclusions -- 7. Social mobility, well-being and class -- Introduction -- A broken Britain? -- Welcome to well-being -- Can well-being be measured? -- Is happiness everything? -- Where does class come in? -- Conclusions -- 8. A new politics of social mobility -- The space for a new politics -- The social contract -- Making equality matter -- Enlightened instrumentalism -- The living salary -- Why does changing the powerful matter? -- Elites and social transformation -- 'It's the economy, stupid ... ' -- Creating 'good growth' -- Social mobility and the Left -- The potential for a new social mobility politics -- Conclusions -- 9. Reframing social mobility -- Step 1: Recalibrate occupational stratification -- Step 2: Change the mission of education as well as the method -- Step 3: Connect success with society -- Step 4: Take middle-class social mobility seriously -- Step 5: Creating a manifesto for holistic social mobility and success -- The case for holistic social mobility -- Bibliography -- Index.

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