The Decreasing Social Mobility in Modern Society

王一純

◆Abstract：In recent decades，the gap between the affluent and the deprived is widening，causing attention to be placed on the concept of the decreasing social mobility.Through analyzing the behaviors among different classes，it is be found that people pay more attention to cultural capitals with the rising economic inequality.This study explores the interrelationship between the decreasing social mobility and the expansion of private education and attempts to find out some effective measures to increase the social mobility.

◆Key Words：social mobility；private education；social class；social inequality

Chapter 1 Research Background

In recent years，it has been widely believed that countries with greater levels of income inequality also have lower levels of inter-generational mobility.In China，the gap between the affluent and the deprived is widening，causing attention to be placed on the concept of inter-generational immobility.Consequently，more and more people have begun to realize the importance of education which can be seen by the championing of receiving education as much as possible as a means by which individuals from less advantaged family backgrounds can advance up the social ladder，thereby fostering increased inter-generational mobility.

The decreasing social mobility is a trend that people who are born with superior possessions will have more advantages than the ordinary in social rivalries.The shift upwards of people from working-class origins to middle-class positions is decreasing and stagnating.Meanwhile，the disadvantaged group will be put aside and sent to the back until losing their rights totally.This kind of situation will bring wider negative consequences，including elites self-producing，income inequality，lasting poverty and societal problems.

Chapter 2 The Interrelationship between Social Mobility and

Private Education

Students believe that a degree is not enough.There is a general consensus that to prepare themselves for post-university employment，they need to do more than gain a qualification.When a degree is not enough，what takes place outside of formal learning becomes highly significant.For in higher education，perhaps to a greater extent than has existed in the past，the student experience has become a formalized process of capital accumulation and the means to maintain differentiation and advantage.Very often，the activities that made up the student experience amongst participants in our study served the extra purpose of allowing the development of the curriculum vitae.While many students connected the wider student experience to personal development and growth，they were also attuned to thinking strategically about curriculum vitae enhancement and resourcing the self for the purposes of employ ability.However，merely recognizing the value of engaging in curriculum vitae-building activities alongside formal study did not translate directly into an uptake of capital building activities.We discerned differences in access and approaches to capital building according to social class.

Although all the participants had acquired high levels of academic capital，the financial exigencies of many students from the working-class had inhibited their participation in extra-curricular activities and volunteering，which are becoming essential components of a curriculum vitae that will suitably impress employers.For example，in Beijing，there are many unpaid internships which are increasingly a major route into permanent positions.Students from the working-class are disadvantaged in terms of future employment.Their families simply don’t have the connections to draw upon to offer advantages in the competitive world of student internships or accessing top professions.Their social capital doesn’t match up to their aspirations as students who seek careers outside their social class.In addition，we should note that those graduates who have talents，even those talents that are unrelated，are more popular in labour market.To illustrate，if there are two applicants who have the same degree and work experience，the person who is good at singing，dancing or playing sports will be employed.Employers believe the kind of people who are multi-skilled will offer more benefits to team.Some employers will even directly ask if you can play basketball，tennis，badminton etc.The significance of private education in your life，in some degree，is irrefutable.Private education can reflect people’s positions and levels in society.Meanwhile，it is also a good way for people to learn more skills and strengthen their power in society.

Chapter 3 Conclusion

In reality，social mobility is often considered an important issue which relates firmly to different social classes.The rising economic inequality will have the long-term effect of reducing the equality of opportunity and social mobility.People pay more attention to cultural capitals.Grabbing more educational resources is an easier way to advance the working-class up the social ladder； for middle or upper class，it is also very important to maintain their positions in society.Decreasing social mobility stimulates the expansion of education，especially concerning private education.Parents make outlandish investments in private supplementary education which consists for instance of private tutoring which can range from informal arrangements with students or teachers to full-fledged professional tutoring.Most of the time，highly able parents from the advantaged class invest in supplementary private education to increase the probability that their children can be highly productive.Their offspring will，thus，maintain their superior positions.In turn，the expansion of private education will become a new route for the advantaged class to seize capitals.However，with the development of technology，most of the information can be acquired on the internet.People from less advantaged classes also have opportunities to gain knowledge by themselves.For the future，we hope that social mobility can increase among the different classes，benefiting the development of one country.

Reference

[1]Ann-Marie Bathmaker，Nicola Ingram，Jessie Abrahams，Anthony Hoare，Richard Waller，Harriet Bradley（auth.）.Higher Education[J].Social Class and Social Mobility，2016.

[2]Bowles，S.Schooling and inequality from generation to generation[J].Journal of Political Economy，1972.

[3]China State Statistical Bureu[M].Beijing：China Statistical Press，2008.

[4]林卉.高等教育機會獲得的階層差異研究[J].清華大學學報，2012.