Will I make It? children’s perspectives on socio-economic mobility

The current study examines how youth (aged 12–15) perceive their potential for upward or downward socioeconomic mobility – their subjective socioeconomic mobility, as well as their beliefs about socioeconomic mobility or factors that facilitate or hinder it. Drawing on a sample of 197 participants and employing quantitative methods with qualitative elements, the study found that most children believe they would improve their socioeconomic status (SES) in the future compared to their parents; this was particularly true of those from lower SES backgrounds. The study also found that children predominantly attribute socioeconomic success or failure to individual rather than to structural factors. The findings underscore the feasibility and importance of incorporating children’s voices into the study of socioeconomic mobility.