ORCID Identifier(s)

0000-0002-6886-904X

Graduation Semester and Year

2019

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Sociology

Department

Sociology and Anthropology

First Advisor

Robert Kunovich

Abstract

Stratification researchers of the last four decades have contributed a multitude of information on how class-origins, culture, and social psychological factors affect class reproduction. However, scholarship has spent comparatively less effort in exploring cultural elements that can facilitate upward mobility for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. This thesis addresses this research imbalance through providing a nuanced look at cultural, social, and economic factors associated with educational mobility. Specifically, I investigate how educational aspirations offset financial constraints for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. I employ regression analyses to examine how common educational mobility is for individuals from less-educated households and then test to see how financial constraints inhibit upward mobility. Finally, I integrate both parental aspirations and self-expectations in education to determine how social psychological factors impact the mobility process. I discover that individuals and parents with high educational expectations can negate the devastating effects of financial constraints. This thesis details a modern account of mobility by showing how individuals from less educated households can attain educational mobility in a time of stark class inequalities.

Keywords

Social mobility, Social stratification, Culture, Education, Class studies, Educational mobility

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sociology

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

Additional Files
28081-2.zip (18998 kB)
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