Policy Issues Lindsay Paterson Edinburgh University

Some reasons to believe educational policy is relevant to social mobility Education mediates between origins and destinations. The association between origins and destinations varies by education. Education is more important than IQ+effort. The association between origins and education remains strong everywhere. But the association between origins and education has declined in some places and has not grown anywhere.

Segregation among schools in 2000 (selected countries)

% school leavers passing 5+ O Grades or Standard Grades in fourth year, 1978-80 to 1998, by father’s class source: Scottish School Leavers’ Survey etc

% attaining at least one Higher, by birth cohort and current religion

Smoothed upward and downward mobility rates (%): men aged 25-64 by overlapping birth cohorts, 1910-49 to 1937-76 source: Scottish Mobility Survey 1974 and Scottish Household Survey 2001

Destination class (%), by religion, among graduates aged 25-64 in 2001 Source: Scottish Household Survey 2001

% upwardly mobile, by birth cohort and current religion

% upwardly mobile, by gender and birth cohort Source: Scottish Household Survey 2001

% in professional jobs, by origin class and whether graduates Source: Scottish Household Survey 2001