This paper examines the relationship between cultural socialisation, educational attainment and intergenerational social mobility. Picking up on debates about the transmission of cultural capital and social advantage, we use data from the Taking Part Survey of England to analyse how far socialisation into cultural activities and encouragement play a role in educational attainment, intergenerational mobility and in the reproduction of class. This survey has unprecedented data on whether respondents had been taken to museums/art galleries, theatre/dance/classical music performances, sites of historic interest, and libraries when they were growing up. This is buttressed by information on how much parents or other adults encouraged the respondents to read books or to be creatively active in different domains of the arts, literature and music. Using these rich measures of childhood socialisation, we can show that part of the effect of parental class on educational attainment is due to the transmission of this kind of cultural capital. Moreover, this transmission also has a direct effect on the level of educational attainment. In a similar fashion, respondents who have experienced a higher intensity of cultural socialisation are more likely to be upwardly mobile, and likewise, cultural transmission has a positive effect on the prevention of downward mobility among service class children. These results are discussed in the light of current issues in British mobility research and its treatment of cultural aspects of class and mobility.s ore_1927 406..428During the past two decades major advances have been made in comprehending both the scale and extent of social mobility in the UK, and its core economic and social dimensions (see for example Goldthorpe, 1980 and1987;Marshall et al., 1997;Goldthorpe and Jackson, 2007). There has, however, been a lack of clarity in the cultural dimensions of mobility, including both the effect of social mobility on cultural practices and tastes, and the role of cultural processes themselves in affecting mobility outcomes. This issue is linked to the existence of unresolved theoretical issues in the study of mobility which pit rational action approaches against those who argue for the importance of cultural capital in the structuring of social mobility (see Goldthorpe, 2007a and b;Savage et al., 2005;2007). This uncertainty also bears on the analysis of the role of educational attainment as a key mediator of social mobility, givenThe Sociological Review, 58:3 (2010)

In this paper, relationships between old age, retirement and social inequalities, as marked by participation in leisure activities, are examined. Two issues are tackled : first, whether old age and particularly the transition into retirement have an effect on participation in three selected activities ; and second, whether the social inequalities underlying these activities change with older age and retirement. The empirical investigation uses data from the first two waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), which included variables on having a hobby, being a member of a club, and an index of participation in cultural events (cinema, theatre/opera/classical music performances, museums and galleries). The different socio-economic backgrounds of different age groups explain a considerable part of the observed age differences in these activities. Longitudinal analyses show that respondents tended to continue their activities regardless of changes in work and age, with two exceptions, namely that retirement was positively related to having a hobby, and those who stopped working because of an illness experienced a significant decline in all three of the examined categories of activity. The pattern of continuity also applied to socio-economic differences in patterns of participation in leisure activities. Some indications of slightly growing inequalities with age require further investigation.KEY WORDS -old age, retirement, social inequality, class, leisure activities, participation. Old age, retirement and social inequalityOne of the most noticeable features of the second half of the 20th century was the growth in the numbers and proportions of people in retirement, a period of the lifecourse that has often been seen as the site of significant inequality. Much of the work done on inequalities has focused on the differences between the retired and those of working age. Given that

No abstract

Taking paid work among men and women beyond pension age as an example, the contribution examines the interrelationship between life courses, gendered welfare regimes, and later-life employment outcomes. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, the article focuses on the role of inequalities, gender and marital status for working despite receiving a pension, and on the subjective reasons for this employment. The quantitative analyses are based on the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and the German Ageing Survey (DEAS), and the qualitative evidence on semi-structured interviews with working pensioners in Germany and the UK. Gender differences in working can be traced back in part to differences in educational qualification and in pre-retirement class. Although no general gender differences in the reasons for paid employment can be found, financial reasons are mentioned much more often by divorced women in Germany and widowed women in the UK than by men and by married women. The qualitative data underlines the special role earned income plays for divorced women and, more generally, the variety of reasons which motivate pensioners to work for pay. Furthermore, pension age is less meaningful for mothers because of their patchier careers. All in all, (poor) labour market chances and household dynamics in old age are interrelated in gendered patterns of old age employment, and accompanied by specific interpretations of this work.

No abstract