Re-Imagining Social Mobility: The Role of Relationality, Social Class and Place in Qualitative Constructions of Mobility

Discussions around social mobility have increasingly gained traction in both political and academic circles the last two decades. The current, established conceptualisation of reduces ‘success’ down to individual level educational achievement, occupational position income, focusing on successful few who rise up move out. For many working-class communities, this discourse is undesirable or antithetical everyday life. Drawing upon 13 interviews with 9 families collected as part an ethnographic study, article asks, ‘how were (im)mobility narratives notions value constructed by residents one community?’ Its findings highlight how alternative constructed; emphasising fixity, anchorage, relationality. Three key techniques used participants when constructing narratives: born bred narrative; distancing from education a route mobility; construction distinct fulfilment. Participants highlighted anchorage place kinship, where fulfilment results finding ontological security. demonstrate that community using relational selfhood model held local value. This makes important contributions theorisation which it might be understood collective rather than endeavour, improving entire communities seek security instead class movement dislocation.