University or Degree Apprenticeship? Stratification and Uncertainty in Routes to the Solicitors' Profession
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2374485 |
|---|---|
| Authors | C Casey (0000-0002-3201-3274, The University of Law, corresponding author), Paul Wakeling (0000-0001-7387-4145, University of York) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 40-58 |
| Publication date | 2022-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Work Employment and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0950017020977001 |
| OpenAlex | W3112235068 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 19 |
This article considers whether degree apprenticeships could disrupt traditional university routes to professional careers and redress longstanding inequalities in access between individuals from different social backgrounds. Using the solicitors' profession as a pertinent case, issues of access and choice are explored, utilising Breen and Goldthorpe's theory of Relative Risk Aversion to understand variation across social background. Drawing on 23 in-depth interviews with law students, trainee solicitors and solicitor degree apprentices from four universities and five law firms across England, the analysis illuminates the decision-making approaches of aspiring solicitors through both the university and the degree apprenticeship routes. Contrary to expectation, the degree apprenticeship route appears to be discounted as unfamiliar and risky by many of those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Instead, it is tactically adopted as an alternative by some middle-class students. As such, the degree apprenticeship is not likely to disrupt existing patterns of access to the solicitors' profession
Apprenticeship · Degree (music · Disadvantaged · Medical education · Political science · Professional degree · Redress · Social science · Social stratification · Sociology · Higher Education and Employability · Higher Education Governance and Development · Law · Medicine · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
The Mismanagement of Talent
Are there distinctive clusters of higher and lower status universities in the UK?
Education, opportunity, and social inequality
The Global Auction
The class ceiling
Stratification in Higher Education
All PhDs are equal but … Institutional and social stratification in access to the doctorate
Students-as-insurers
Global trends in higher education financing
Forward and backward, horizontal and vertical
Cracking the Code
Explaining Educational Differentials
Education, opportunity and the prospects for social mobility
How fair is access to more prestigious UK universities
The Worldwide Expansion of Higher Education in the Twentieth Century
Entry to Elite Positions and the Stratification of Higher Education in Britain
Using Rational Action Theory and Bourdieu's Habitus Theory Together to Account for Educational Decision-making in England and Germany
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |