Rethinking Social Mobility as an objective

I came to refine the way I thought about the objectives of education.

This paper helped me to realize further that I make a set of assumptions based on my perspective when I interpret information. When reading Labaree’s article about the various purposes of education, I didn’t realize until several pages in that my view of social mobility means the potential for upward mobility for those from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds, whereas when the author talks about social mobility they refer to it as a way to make/keep education consumer-focused in a way that benefits those who stand to gain the most from the educational system. I also realized that when Labree talks about social mobility being an objective of education, they talk about it from the perspective of each individual consumer, and thus they evaluate it from the perspective of how one individual seeks to optimize their social status. When I think of social mobility in the context of educational opportunity, I tend to think of it as the aggregate net benefit of all individuals who become educated. The author on page 53 made it clear who in their mind is most served by this perspective: “high tuition may not be a deterrent but an attraction, since it advertises the exclusivity and high standing of the institution.” This level of institution, according to the social mobility perspective, is the ideal way to best accredit oneself and is thus the optimal place to go to college, but this ideal assumes that the ‘consumer’ who might take this view has the means to attend such an institution, and to not be deterred (but even attracted) by a high cost of attendance.

Needless to say, I was a little confused when the author began to attribute many of the shortcomings of the education system in the United States to the social mobility goal. I was thinking defensively about what I was reading. In my mind, the opportunity for upward social mobility is practically what defines college for me, because I only stand to gain by even coming to college. I soon realized, though, that the problems with the social mobility objective are not necessarily how I had been thinking they were initially.

Another point made by Labaree in this paper was pretty interesting to me: that when so much emphasis is placed on ensuring social mobility, education becomes a competition among students to out-accredit eachother, and that students will optimize the payoff of their time in school. “Consider the effects on all this on education. When they see education through the lens of social mobility , students at all levels quickly come to the conclusion that what matters most is not the knowledge they learn in school but the credentials they require there.” This has been very true for me. The way that I’ve come to measure the distance I’ve earned between myself and my parents’ farm, I measure in academic achievements (grades, classes, years of college, and soon degrees).