Using the Intergenerational Ladder in the A Level Classroom

Teaching social mobility can be challenging. It’s an abstract concept that students often struggle to visualise, especially when they’ve had limited real-world exposure to how class advantages and disadvantage splay out over generations. Students may understand terms like upward mobility or class reproduction in theory, but making those ideas feel meaningful requires more than definitions.

One of the most effective ways to bridge that gap is through narrative. The Intergenerational Ladder activity uses multi-generational family stories to bring mobility patterns to life. Instead of memorising concepts, students see them in action: how structural forces shape opportunity, how education opens (or closes) doors, and how wealth and networks are transmitted. This activity encourages deeper thinking, sparks debate and helps students produce the applied, evaluative responses examiners look for.

Below is a full guide on how to deliver the activity, support student understanding, and stretch their analysis through extensions.

Key Definitions

Before students begin, introduce the following definitions to build conceptual clarity:

• Social Mobility: Movement of individuals or families between social class positions over time.
• Intergenerational Mobility: Movement between generations—for example, differences between a parent’s class and their child’s class.
• Intragenerational Mobility: Movement within an individual’s lifetime (e.g., from apprentice to manager).
• Upward Mobility: Movement to a higher class position.
• Downward Mobility: Movement to a lower class position.
• Limited or Zero Mobility: When a family remains in the same class position across generations.
• Structural Mobility: Mobility caused by societal changes (e.g., deindustrialisation).
• Exchange Mobility: Mobility where some move up and others move down, keeping overall structure balanced.

These definitions help students identify what is happening in each family case study.

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The Intergenerational Ladder: Activity Overview

Students are given five multi-generational family stories. Each spans between two and three generations and includes information about:

• occupation
• income
• education
• housing
• migration
• cultural capital
• social networks
• inheritance or wealth

The families represent a range of mobility patterns—including upward mobility, downward mobility, stability, entrepreneurship-driven mobility, and class reproduction through inherited wealth.

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Why This Activity Works

1. It brings sociological patterns to life

Students see how abstract forces—like deindustrialisation or inherited wealth—shape concrete outcomes for real people.

2. It develops AO2 application skills

Students interpret sociological concepts in realistic scenarios, mirroring the skills needed for exam items.

3. It encourages evaluation and comparison

Debates often arise about which factors mattered most or whether mobility was truly “upward”. These are powerful AO3 opportunities.

4. It supports mixed-ability classrooms

The narrative format is accessible, but the conceptual reasoning can be highly demanding for more advanced learners.

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Instructions for Classroom Delivery

1. Introduce the Concept

Remind students that mobility is influenced by both individual decisions and structural conditions. Give them the definitions above for reference.

2. Share the Family Case Studies

Provide printed cards or a digital version of the five families:

• The Okoros: Upward mobility through migration → education → professional work.
• The Thompsons: Downward mobility caused by deindustrialisation.
• The Garcias: Upward mobility followed by stable middle-class reproduction.
• The Harringtons: Minimal mobility as privilege sustained through inheritance and elite networks.
• The Patels: Rapid upward mobility through education, innovation and entrepreneurship.

3. Student Task: Plot the Mobility Pattern

Students create an “intergenerational ladder” for each family by:

• placing each generation on a simple class ladder
• showing whether the movement was upward, downward or stable
• noting key evidence (e.g., education, income, housing, job security)

4. Analyse Key Factors

Students must explain why each pattern occurred. Encourage them to consider:

• structural changes (e.g., industrial decline, labour market shifts)
• cultural and social capital
• discrimination or barriers
• inheritance and wealth
• educational opportunities
• policy contexts (e.g., access to HE, housing schemes)

5. Compare Across Families

Groups compare findings and discuss:

• Which family shows the fastest mobility?
• Who experienced structural constraints?
• Where is mobility heavily dependent on privilege or networks?

6. Plenary: Link to Sociological Themes

This is essential for drawing out exam-grade analysis. Connect the patterns to:

• meritocracy debates
• class reproduction
• Bourdieu’s capital theory
• labour market inequality
• contemporary UK mobility trends
• structural vs. individual explanations

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Assessment Ideas

You can assess this activity formatively or summatively.

1. Short Written Response

“Using one family from the activity, explain the main factors that shaped their mobility pattern.”

2. Comparative Analysis

“Compare two families and assess the extent to which their mobility was shaped by structural forces.”

3. Exam-Style Extended Question

“Evaluate the view that social mobility in the UK is increasingly limited. Refer to the Intergenerational Ladder families in your answer.”

4. Mobility Diagram Submission

Students submit their intergenerational ladders with annotated explanations.

5. Oral Presentation

Groups present one family’s mobility pattern and defend their interpretation against class questions.

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Extension Activities

These are ideal for stretch and challenge, high-attaining classes, or coursework-style lessons.

1. Classify Using NS-SEC, Goldthorpe or Great British Class Survey definitions

Students apply formal class schemas to each generation and compare whether the classification matches their intuition.

2. Structural vs. Individual Factors Debate

Students sort causes of mobility into structural/individual categories, then debate which mattered most for each family.

3. Create a Sixth Family

Students invent an additional family with a specified mobility pattern.
E.g., “design a family showing cyclical downward mobility across four generations”.

4. Timeline Mapping

Students plot historical events (e.g., recessions, changes to HE access, industrial decline) alongside each family to show how macro-level shifts shape mobility.

5. Real Data Comparison

Students compare fictional mobility patterns with real data from:

• Social Mobility Commission
• Sutton Trust
• ONS occupational statistics

6. Cross-National Comparison

Discuss how each family’s mobility might change in the US, Finland, Japan or Italy.

7. “Is Britain a Meritocracy?” Debate

Using the families as evidence, students debate this key question and justify their conclusion.

8. Exam-Style Evaluation Grid

Students evaluate:

• education
• cultural capital
• labour markets
• inheritance as drivers of mobility in each case.

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Final Thoughts

The Intergenerational Ladder is a powerful tool for making social mobility visible, relatable and intellectually engaging. By blending storytelling with structured sociological analysis, students learn not just to define mobility, but to use the concept to explain patterns, evaluate theories and recognise structural inequalities.

You can download the material for this activity below: