Description:
This book challenges existing ideas by suggesting that it is cognitive ability rather than socioeconomic inequality that leads to long term educational outcomes, adding to the debate between the traditional quantitative methods of sociology and the more accepted qualitative methods today.
Review Quotes:
'This book is recommended to students and professionals in sociology and more widely in economics, education and psychology. This text provides a real opportunity for researchers to question their theoretical beliefs and their perspectives in the interpretation of research evidence. This book has the capacity to challenge our thinking on the nature and mechanisms of social inequality.' - Roxanne Connelly, University of Edinburgh, UK
'Marks makes a strong case for the dominant and increasingly dominant role of achievement in the allocation process. This argument does not mean that this trend will inexorably continue, that ascription does not condition chances for achievement, or that there are no persisting and significant inequities. Gender? Race? Yet to those who deny the relatively large impact of achievement and the "decline of the social," the gauntlet is down.' - Paul W. Kingston, American Journal of Sociology, USA
'This book is a truly comprehensive addition to contemporary sociological opinion. As well as deepening considerations regarding the complex relationship of social background, cognitive ability and improved outcomes, Marks' purposeful narration guides the reader through the thorny complexity of several other key sociological debates, including the role of quantitative and qualitative research, explanatory and non-explanatory theory and political ideology in research.' - Claire Forbes, LSE Book Review, UK