{"id":45967,"date":"2018-11-13T12:15:24","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T20:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=45967"},"modified":"2018-11-13T12:15:24","modified_gmt":"2018-11-13T20:15:24","slug":"education-does-not-always-equal-social-mobility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/education-does-not-always-equal-social-mobility\/","title":{"rendered":"Education does not always equal social mobility"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nEducators around the world, particularly those in secondary schools, often default to a compelling story when they are trying to motivate their students: Work hard, achieve well and you will secure a successful future with attractive job prospects.<\/p>\n

This is currently the conventional wisdom across much of the Western world, with strong links drawn between education, meritocracy and upward social mobility.<\/p>\n

But what does the research suggest about intergenerational mobility? Do children from poorer backgrounds have the same potential to realize their dreams if they achieve high standards in their education systems?<\/p>\n

In fact, education is important but not enough to change inequities around the world. Intergenerational mobility, referring to changes in social status for different generations in the same family, is far from normal.<\/p>\n

The American dream in Denmark<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Public health researchers\u00a0Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett argued<\/a>\u00a0outcomes in social mobility and education are significantly worse in rich countries with more inequality, that is, with populations that show larger gaps between the wealthy and the poor. For example, the United States and United Kingdom have close associations between fathers\u2019 and sons\u2019 incomes, compared to countries such as Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway.<\/p>\n

Wilkson went so far as to jokingly comment in a TED talk \u201cif Americans want to live the American dream, they should go to Denmark.\u201d<\/p>\n