Social mobility has long been one of the central topics of sociology. It has been the subject of major theoretical contributions from the earliest generations of scholars, as well as being of persistent political interest and concern. Social mobility is frequently used as a key measure of fairness and social justice, given the central role that modern liberal democracies give to equality of opportunity. More pragmatically, policymakers often consider it a force for economic growth and social integration.    However, discussions of social mobility have increasingly become dominated by advanced statistical techniques, impenetrable to all but specialists in quantitative methods. In this concise and lucid book, Anthony Heath and Yaojun Li cut through the technical literature to provide an eye-opening account of the ideas, debates and realities that surround this important social phenomenon. Their book illuminates the major patterns and trends in rates of social mobility, and their drivers, in contemporary western and emerging societies, ultimately enabling readers to understand and engage with this perennially relevant social issue. 

Do second-generation ethnic minorities, those born and brought up in Britain, increasingly adopt British attitudes, values and ways or life, or do they, as some commentators have claimed, remain isolated from the mainstream? This study maps the extent of generational change among Britain's ethnic minority population and explores the underlying processes involved. It asks whether generational change has been in the direction of greater integration, or whether some minorities been slower to integrate, perhaps as a result of the prejudice and discrimination from the white British that they have encountered or because of desires to maintain ethnic values and resist Western practices. The study draws on the most recent and most authoritative British data to answer these questions. Chapter authors include leading authorities both from Britain and America, including Mary Waters (Harvard), Lucinda Platt (LSE) and Anthony Heath, CBE (Oxford and Manchester) as well as a new generation of young scholars. It will be essential reading both for students and scholars working on ethnic relations and for policy-makers and the wider public interested in questions of social cohesion, multiculturalism and integration. This book was originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.

Do second-generation ethnic minorities, those born and brought up in Britain, increasingly adopt British attitudes, values and ways or life, or do they, as some commentators have claimed, remain isolated from the mainstream? This study maps the extent of generational change among Britain's ethnic minority population and explores the underlying processes involved. It asks whether generational change has been in the direction of greater integration, or whether some minorities been slower to integrate, perhaps as a result of the prejudice and discrimination from the white British that they have encountered or because of desires to maintain ethnic values and resist Western practices. The study draws on the most recent and most authoritative British data to answer these questions. Chapter authors include leading authorities both from Britain and America, including Mary Waters (Harvard), Lucinda Platt (LSE) and Anthony Heath, CBE (Oxford and Manchester) as well as a new generation of young scholars. It will be essential reading both for students and scholars working on ethnic relations and for policy-makers and the wider public interested in questions of social cohesion, multiculturalism and integration. This book was originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.

Social mobility has long been one of the central topics of sociology. It has been the subject of major theoretical contributions from the earliest generations of scholars, as well as being of persistent political interest and concern. Social mobility is frequently used as a key measure of fairness and social justice, given the central role that modern liberal democracies give to equality of opportunity. More pragmatically, policymakers often consider it a force for economic growth and social integration.    However, discussions of social mobility have increasingly become dominated by advanced statistical techniques, impenetrable to all but specialists in quantitative methods. In this concise and lucid book, Anthony Heath and Yaojun Li cut through the technical literature to provide an eye-opening account of the ideas, debates and realities that surround this important social phenomenon. Their book illuminates the major patterns and trends in rates of social mobility, and their drivers, in contemporary western and emerging societies, ultimately enabling readers to understand and engage with this perennially relevant social issue. 

An analysis of the enduring social costs of the post-2008 economic crisis 2008 was a watershed year for global finance. The banking system was eventually pulled back from the brink, but the world was saddled with the worst slump since the 1930s Depression, and millions were left unemployed. While numerous books have addressed the financial crisis, very little has been written about its social consequences. Journalist Tom Clark draws on the research of a transatlantic team led by Professors Anthony Heath and Robert D. Putnam to determine the great recession's toll on individuals, families, and community bonds in the United States and the United Kingdom. The ubiquitous metaphor of the crisis has been an all-encompassing "financial storm," but Clark argues that the data tracks the narrow path of a tornado-destroying some neighborhoods while leaving others largely untouched. In our vastly unequal societies, disproportionate suffering is being meted out to the poor-and the book's new analysis suggests that the scars left by unemployment and poverty will linger long after the economy recovers. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic have shown more interest in exploiting the divisions of opinion ushered in by the slump than in grappling with these problems. But this hard-hitting analysis provides a wake-up call that all should heed.

Educational standards have figured prominently in debates over educational policy all over the world. Two abiding themes emerge from these contributions to the debate. The first is that the very notion of a "standard" has to be viewed in its historical and social context. Different countries have widely varying views of what constitutes a "standard" and how necessary such a concept is for the adequate functioning of their educational systems. And, secondly, it is difficult, if not impossible, to arrive at an "objective" definition of educational standards. Policies based upon comparisons of examinations, tests, or other devices should therefore be seen for what they really are - human judgements which, however conscientiously pursued, are ultimately subjective and influenced by culture, personality, and general perceptions of the external world.

The book provides a comprehensive and authoritative study of the patterns of ethnic educational inequality among the 'second generation' (that is of the children of migrants born in the country of destination) in secondary schools and higher education in ten western countries - Belgium, Britain, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. These are countries which have become increasingly diverse in recent years and which provide a range of educational systems, immigration rules, and integration policies. The experience of the second generation, who have been born and educated in the countries of destination, is widely seen as being a crucial test of whether western liberal democracies live up to their professed ideals of fairness and meritocracy. Education is likely to be crucial for the future integration of ethnic minorities, with important implications for social cohesion. The book investigates the educational careers of the second-generation groups using large-scale national datasets and harmonised analyses of outcomes in order to identify patterns of success and failure in education and the mechanisms underlying such inequalities. It examines whether such differences can be attributed to immigration policies of the receiving countries, the structure of the education system, the poverty of the sending countries, their cultural differences from the destination country, the degree of 'positive selection' of the migrants, or to more specific characteristics of particular ethnic minorities. It provides a rigorous description and quantification of ethnic inequalities in education and makes important progress in explaining existing inequalities.

This book provides a timely reassessment of the relationship between social research and social reform. A. H. Halsey's work on educational opportunity is a particularly significant example of the study of this relationship, and his retirement from the directorship of the Department of Social and Administrative Studies at the University of Oxford provides an opportunity to review his contribution to date. It has been a rare oeuvre, combining a strong moral commitment to egalitarian social reform with a vigorous concern for evidence and quantitative research. In this book leading scholars attempt to come to terms with Professor Halsey's contribution by offering essays in their own specialisms that reflect his continuing influence on their work. The range of subjects covered reflects the breadth of his influence and interests: Canon Barnett on ethical socialism; changing conceptions of social work; community and citizenship; social groups and movements within both State and market; an assessment of European Poverty Programmes; the reform of secondary education; options for reform of post-16 education and training; higher education policy in Britain and the USA; social mobility and meritocracy; the role of social research in community development; women's studies in sociology, and the role of evaluation research in social policy in the USA and Sweden. In the face of current scepticism about its effectiveness, Social Research and Social Reform provides important evidence on the influence of social research and suggests new ways in which its relationship to social reform should be viewed.

When this volume was first published in 1976, exchange theory had recently come into the fore in sociology as an attempt to develop systematic theories of social behaviour comparable to those which economics had developed. In doing so it borrowed from many different intellectual traditions including economics and anthropology, behavioural sociology and on the traditional concerns of sociologists and social psychologists. Dr Heath provides a systematic exposition of the principle components of exchange theory, and goes on to give a critique of these theories, paying particular attention to the success of their empirical applications. He concludes that exchange theory, despite its limitations, has an important part to play in the development of social science and is one of the most promising theories available. Rational Choice and Social Exchange will be of interest to anyone concerned with the development of social science and in particular to students of sociology, anthropology, psychology and political science.

Designed for family therapists, this book offers stories, exercises, self-assessments and evaluative techniques to improve observational skills, enhance clinical work and encourage meaningful research. The authors discuss their views on hearing stories, observing data and analyzing speech, creating an engaging and learning experience.