Success Paradox

Graeme Atherton has been working in access to higher education and social mobility for nearly 20 years. He has led regional, national and international initiatives to increase opportunity in higher education. He is a frequent commentator on social mobility and education in the UK and internationally. As Chair of the World Congress on Access to Post-Secondary Education he is leading a global movement to open up opportunity to benefit from education for learners over the life course across the world.

• Introduction;Why we need a new theory of social mobility;Rising, Falling or staying the same? The academic discourse on social mobility;Unpicking the political consensus on social mobility;Breaking the Attainment Addiction;Unbundling, diversification and ecological: New models for Higher Education;Hourglass, molecule or pyramid? Social mobility and the labour market;Social Mobility, well-being and class;A new politics for social mobility;Conclusions: Re-framing social mobility.

"A useful and thought-provoking contribution to current debates on the notion of success that is engaging and accessible." Sheila Riddell, University of Edinburgh