A Critical Literature Review of Social Mobility in Britain's Further Education Sector

Abstract

This article critically reviews the relationship between social mobility and Britain's Further Education (FE) sector, tracing the concept's evolution and the dominance of intergenerational measures in research and policy. It argues that this focus obscures the short-and medium-term impacts of FE, which are better captured through intragenerational approaches. Frameworks such as Bourdieu's forms of capital are noted for their frequent but partial use, often serving as categorisation tools rather than fully applied analytical models. The review highlights structural and policy constraints—including the hierarchy of qualifications, narrowing vocational pathways, and the limitations of proxies such as Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility—that undermine FE's capacity to promote upward mobility for disadvantaged learners. It concludes that persistent data limitations and policy biases towards Higher Education (HE) obscure FE's distinct role, calling for standardised intragenerational measurement frameworks, improved high-frequency longitudinal datasets, and rigorous evaluation of qualification reforms to better understand and enhance FE's contribution to social mobility