Sociology – Paper 3 – Education and society | e-Consult
Paper 3 – Education and society (1 questions)
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The table shows a steady rise in higher‑education participation across all classes between 2010 and 2020.
- All groups increased, but the absolute gap between the upper‑class and lower‑working class remained large (68 % vs 14 % in 2020).
- The relative growth was greatest for the working‑class (+12 pp) and lower‑working class (+6 pp), indicating some widening of opportunity.
- Despite progress, the persistence of a >50 percentage‑point gap suggests that education alone is insufficient to achieve full social mobility; structural factors (financial resources, cultural capital) continue to limit access for the most disadvantaged.
Thus, the data support a partial but limited role for education in promoting upward mobility, aligning with conflict‑theory arguments that class differentials endure even as overall participation expands.