Every now and then, you will hear people moving from one place to another. The system of hierarchy or stratification is one of the major reasons behind it. Culture and society are the most important part of sociology. There are different groups of people living in society. You can differentiate them because of social class, income and other factors. So, we can define social mobility as a shift from one social status to another. It is important to note that there can be several types of this shift. It can be higher, lower, inter or intra-generational. Based on these shifts, we cannot say that it is good or bad.
Pitirim Sorokin first introduced this concept in his book Social and Cultural Mobility. He thinks that no society is either completely open or close. Open society means a class system around the globe. At the same time, a close society means caste system in developing societies. This article by top dissertation researchers aims to discuss it. It will also discuss the relationship between social mobility and education. Apart from this, how education can impact it. Let’s discuss in detail:
Types of Social Mobility:
There are two major types of mobility. Those types are horizontal and vertical social mobility. Let’s discuss them:
Horizontal Mobility:
It means the movement of a person from one situation to another but at the same level. In this type of mobility, movement will occur in the single stratum. There will be a change in the affiliations of a person, but there will be no change in the social status of a person. We can explain this with an example. A Chemistry teacher will be working as a chemistry teacher in another school. According to this example, the role and position of a chemistry teacher will remain the same. But, the only change will be the change of workplace. This workplace change will bring change in his affiliations.
Vertical Mobility:
It means the movement of a person from one situation to another but at a different level. In this type of mobility, movement will occur in a different stratum. In this type, there will be a change in the social status of a person. As an individual, you will become rich after getting an education. So, you will change your social status and move to another stratum. There are further two types of vertical mobility. Those types are upward and downward social mobility. Movement from lower to higher refers to upward mobility. But, movement from higher to lower refers to downward mobility.
Education and Social Mobility:
These two aspects are the major forces of sociology. There is a positive relationship between these two aspects. Modern-day society always values education. The prime reason behind this value is its role in social mobility. Education will play an important role when it comes to it. In every society, there are social stratifications. Social stratifications refer to societal inequalities. These inequalities can be on the basis of class, status and many others.
Education will help you to overcome these inequalities. It will help your movement from the lower class to the higher class. It will help you in vertical upward social mobility. It is a change in social class from parents to adult children. So, we cannot deny the role of education in it. It will help you to improve your status and social class. There are several constraints that will be as important as education. One of the major constraints will be time.
Situation in Developing Countries:
Education is also playing an important role in social mobility in developing countries. It will help people move from their lower social class to higher class. But, here is another important thing that you should remember. The mobility size will be at a minimum scale, but there will still be social mobility. Time will be again a major constraint that will affect social mobility. A higher level of education will make this mobility faster. In the end, vertical social mobility will take place.
Conclusion:
Education and social mobility are widely discussed aspects of sociology. This article discussed what is social mobility. Apart from this, this article discussed two major types of it. This article also discussed the relationship between education and social mobility. There is a positive relationship between these two. A higher level of education will cause vertical upward mobility.