A study from the University of Exeter suggests that efforts to improve social mobility should shift away from “helicopter” policies aimed at helping a select few children “escape” their communities.
According to the study, government and charity initiatives focused on relocating young people fail to address the root causes of their challenges. Instead, the focus should be on strengthening local education options, both academic and vocational, and creating employment opportunities linked to lifelong learning.
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The researchers initially interviewed 10 beneficiaries of a U.K. charity-led program that assisted disadvantaged students in applying to elite U.S. universities in 2015, during their early university years in the United States. Four years later, they re-interviewed them. All participants had graduated, with six remaining in the United States and four returning to the United Kingdom. Only one went back to their original community.
The study found that all participants greatly benefited from their international experiences, with most landing high-paying graduate jobs or prestigious graduate programs. Many experienced a significant departure from their previous way of life when they left their U.K. neighborhoods.
The “helicopter mobility” program they participated in enabled them to leave behind their disadvantaged communities.
“Such helicopter schemes are not designed to challenge the structure of social reproduction of educational inequalities, nor do they enhance local employment opportunities,” the researchers explain. “Such helicopter schemes have value for individuals, and they might work as a short-term ‘circuit breaker’ to disrupt specific patterns of deprivation, but without an effort to disrupt the opportunity structure for the many.”
Catapulting the few
The success stories of globally mobile disadvantaged students highlight remarkable achievements in further education and employment. However, the underlying concept guiding their mobility resembles a helicopter: individuals are lifted out of challenging circumstances, yet the systemic issues of educational and economic disadvantage remain unaddressed.
Consequently, this approach may unintentionally reinforce and perpetuate inequalities by assisting only a select few labeled as ‘deserving’ while leaving others behind, potentially stigmatized as ‘undeserving’ poor.
“Helicopter mobility can provide a feel-good smokescreen behind which the education and labor market system does not provide opportunity for many young people,” the researchers explain.
The researchers noted that when they interviewed the students again, their original identities tied to poverty were not readily apparent. The students expressed confidence in their decision to study abroad, acknowledging it as a life-changing choice they didn’t regret. They were thankful for the opportunity and didn’t mention any sacrifices they had to make for their decision.
Up and away
“Participants recognized that relationships had changed with friends and family,” the researchers explain. “However, they felt this was a natural process and the time away from family was an inevitable part of pursuing bigger dreams and getting older.
“The participants reported a tendency to be ‘super-adaptable,’ to easily connect with others and build large networks, and by using their exceptional engaging personalities, interpersonal and academic abilities, acquired valuable cultural and social capital through creative means. Because of this, they experienced very little maladjustment when transitioning into their first jobs or selective graduate programs.”
The researchers found no evidence that the elite positions attained by these students directly impact structural inequalities in their original communities. Only one student had returned to their pre-university community and was experiencing difficulties fitting in. Those who remained in the U.S. had no intentions of returning to the United Kingdom, indicating a lack of a feedback mechanism in this model of mobility, thus limiting its potential to inspire change in their home communities.
