- Efforts across OECD countries to expand access to higher education have not delivered system wide social mobility gains.
- While universities have expanded and more disadvantaged students gained degrees in the last decade, the link between higher education and higher earnings has weakened for those from less-advantaged backgrounds.
- Family background still plays a huge role in outcomes. Students from non-graduate families were still 45% less likely to become top earners than those whose parents attended university.
- However, some countries, including Ireland, are successfully addressing inequalities. And vocational and technical routes can make a significant contribution.
New research published by the Sutton Trust today reveals that social mobility is either flat or declining across many wealthier countries, as higher levels of university participation are offset by an 8 percentage point fall in the earnings uplift for students from non-graduate families.
Meanwhile, across OECD countries, those whose parents didn’t attend university are still 45% less likely to reach the top earnings quintile than those with graduate parents. This shows that family background is still a strong predictor of future earnings.
The Degrees of Difference report, which looked at 20 OECD countries, found that over the last decade the proportion of people gaining a degree whose parents did not themselves attend university rose by 11 percentage points. This compares to a rise in 5 percentage points among those with graduate parents, signalling a slight narrowing of the attainment gap.
At the individual level, higher education was consistently associated with improved life chances for those from disadvantaged backgrounds in all countries. This is particularly true in the UK where the research shows two thirds of mobility is driven by higher education, well above the OECD average of 58%.
However, the research shows that while a university degree significantly narrows the gap, it still does not always equalise disadvantaged students with their better off peers. This demonstrates both the power and the limits of higher education in terms of driving systemic change on social mobility.
In the UK and the US, university is still the dominant route to higher earnings for those from less advantaged backgrounds and for individuals gaining a degree, especially from more selective institutions, it can bring particularly strong outcomes. However, these numbers are still small. Within the US, students from low-income backgrounds are poorly represented within elite institutions and the UK universities that perform best with respect to graduate outcomes often have few students from low-income backgrounds. Widening access to the most selective universities is therefore crucial if the potential for higher education to promote social mobility is to be fully harnessed.
The report also notes that this heavy reliance on the university route may reflect the weakness of alternative options.
In other countries, such as Canada and some continental European systems, vocational education, apprenticeships, technical qualifications, and lifelong learning make a significant contribution to social mobility and equity.
Billy Huband-Thompson, Head of Research and Policy at the Sutton Trust, said:
“This research demonstrates how different social, cultural and economic forces have shaped educational pathways in different countries, and challenges assumptions about higher education being a ‘silver bullet’ for social mobility. If we want to spread opportunity across the country, we also need a range of high-quality, vocational and technical routes for those who don’t enter university, which includes the majority of young people from lower income backgrounds.”
The report also highlights other important drivers of social mobility which need to be taken into account by policy makers. These include earlier stages of the education journey which affect chances of higher education access, and the health of the labour market with respect to the demand for graduate labour and employment practices. Industrial strategy and regional development also play significant roles.
These factors all impact on life chances for individuals and on social mobility more broadly, even when access to higher education is increased.
The report authors note that the multi-pronged ‘whole of government, whole of education’ approach in Ireland, which focuses as much on primary and even pre-school education, may be more successful in addressing inequalities. Ireland is one of only three countries featured in the report to have successfully widened university access and also seen gains in social mobility – the others being Chile and Lithuania.
Nick Harrison, Chief Executive of the Sutton Trust, said:
“This report should be a wake-up call to policy makers and education leaders. If we are going to make a step change on social mobility we need to not just increase university participation but also zone in on the access and outcome gaps that continue to hold disadvantaged young people back. This means doubling down on efforts to widen access, especially to the more selective institutions which deliver the biggest earnings uplifts, as well as improving outcomes at less-selective institutions which young people from low income backgrounds are more likely to attend. But higher education alone can’t do all the heavy lifting. We need a much stronger mix of routes across the whole of tertiary education, and more action to address barriers to opportunity in the labour market and employment. This is not just about fairness. Improving opportunities for disadvantaged young people is vital for Britain’s social cohesion and long-term economic growth. And with nearly a million 16–24-year-olds in the UK not currently in education, employment or training, the stakes for the government’s post-16 education reforms couldn’t be higher.”
This research was funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York. Its key findings will be discussed at an international Higher Education Summit in London on Wednesday 19 November.