The Limited Concerns of Social Mobility Research

Abstract

An anomaly exists between the high level of development and achievement of research into social mobility and its limited impact upon social stratification theory. Possibilities for increasing the substantive relevance of mobility research through the broadening of its conceptualization are discussed. The restrictions of most analyses to a limited set of data collection points - parents' occupation, first job and present occupation - limits the possible issues that an analysis can address and raises serious questions of reliability. Insufficient consideration has been given by researchers to the `commonsensical' definitions of mobility they employ. Gender in social stratification research remains an area requiring conceptual development. Analysis procedures that assume full-time employment in the formal economy as a norm are becoming less valid with time, particularly if analyses are to be extended beyond western nations. A narrow focus on occupational strata leads to neglect of questions of group mobility, family effects and structural and historical change. The mainstream of mobility research continues to be driven mainly by analytic techniques rather than conceptual concerns.