Professor Christina de Bellaigue develops new way to analyse social mobility and women’s education
‘Women, Mobility, and Education in Twentieth-century England and Wales: A New Analytical Approach’, written by Exeter’s Jackson Fellow, Tutor and Associate Professor in History, Christina de Bellaigue, with Eve Worth, Charlotte Bennett, Karin Eli and Stanley Ulijaszek, has been published in the journal Twentieth Century British History (OUP).
‘The twentieth century saw substantial changes in the educational and occupational opportunities available to women in Britain’, they write. Whilst these changes may have been supposed to foster new patterns of female mobility, studies of women’s intergenerational mobility are rare. This article develops a historically informed gauge of educational attainment and applies it to the experiences of women in 20th Century Britain. By applying the method to family data, rather than focusing only on individuals, the article identifies trends within families and the possible influence of family cultures of education and employment on intergenerational mobility.
The article relates to Professor de Bellaigue’s broader interest in the history of women, education, and social mobility. Drawing on research funded in part by Exeter College, and by the Wellcome trust, this article is another step towards a much-needed understanding of the connection between social mobility and women’s educational attainment.
Professor de Bellaigue and Eve Worth have also published a blog on the subject, ‘Women, mobility, and education in twentieth-century England and Wales: why we need to move away from direct comparisons of educational qualifications’. To read the blog click here.
