Against All Odds: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Educational Upward Mobility among Disadvantaged Students

• In Event: 207 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 19. Processes of Privilege and Mobility

Abstract

Inequalities in education have long been a core interest in social science research. However, less knowledge exists on exceptional cases of students attaining high degrees despite a disadvantaged starting position. Structural factors cannot account for differences in educational attainment within a given structural context. Thus, recent studies, point to personal networks to explain upward mobility. However, two issues require further attention: in what combinations can personal-network factors produce educational upward mobility, and in how far do these combinations differ between students of different origin and gender. I use 36 indepth biographical interviews I conducted with disadvantaged students (whose parents have ten years of education or less), 24 of which show upward mobility. I comparatively analyze which combinations of personal-network factors produce educational upward mobility. A special focus is to compare students from different origins and genders. My research provides a new perspective by focusing on how disadvantaged students achieve upward mobility and thus sheds light on a crucial process in this nexus of societal change. My findings contribute to the literature on social stratification, education, and secondgeneration integration.

Author

• Nicolas Martin Legewie, Humboldt University-Berlin