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Graduate Education and Social Stratification
Julie R Posselt1, Eric Grodsky2
1Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089.
Annual Review of Sociology
|January 22, 2019
Summary
Graduate education significantly contributes to social stratification, with persistent disparities in access and attainment based on race, gender, and family background. Further research is needed to understand these complex patterns.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Higher Education Studies
- Social Stratification
Background:
- Graduate and professional education are critical for elite formation and economic inequality in the U.S.
- Sociological research has focused more on undergraduate than graduate education stratification.
- Existing theories of social stratification need to be extended to the graduate education context.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and extend prominent stratification theories to graduate and professional education.
- To examine research on stratification within postbaccalaureate education pathways to the labor market.
- To identify persistent stratification patterns and propose future research directions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and theoretical synthesis.
- Analysis of existing research on graduate and professional education pathways.
- Examination of stratification at multiple junctures from entry to labor market.
Main Results:
- Persistent stratification is evident in doctoral and professional education.
- Significant educational inheritance is observed among graduate students.
- Pronounced disparities in participation and degree attainment exist by race/ethnicity and gender.
Conclusions:
- Graduate and professional education are key sites of social stratification.
- Educational inheritance and demographic disparities shape postbaccalaureate outcomes.
- Further inquiry is needed to understand the role of graduate education in perpetuating social inequality.
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