This event is part of Worldwide Week at Harvard, which will be celebrated from October 22- 26, 2018.
In this talk, the speaker draws on 120 years of biographical data (N = 120,764) contained within the Who’s Who — a unique catalogue of the British elite — to explore the changing relationship between elite schools and elite recruitment.
Research suggests that the propulsive power of Britain’s private schools has diminished significantly over time. This is driven, in part, by the wane of military and religious elites, and the rise of women in the labor force. However, the most dramatic declines followed key educational reforms that increased access to the credentials needed to access elite trajectories, while also standardizing and differentiating them. Notwithstanding these changes, public schools remain extraordinarily powerful channels of elite formation. Even today, the alumni of the nine Clarendon schools are 94 times more likely to reach the British elite than are those, who attended any other school. Alumni of elite schools also retain a striking capacity to enter the elite even without passing through other prestigious institutions, such as Oxford University and Cambridge University, or private members clubs.
The speaker's research not only points to the dogged persistence of the “old boy,” but also underlines the theoretical importance of reviving and refining the study of elite recruitment.
Worldwide Week at Harvard showcases the remarkable breadth of Harvard’s global engagement. During Worldwide Week, Harvard Schools, research centers, departments, and student organizations will host academic and cultural events with global or international themes. See the Worldwide Week schedule for a listing of all events at Harvard during that week.
