Conference PaperPDF Available

Developing an Elite Index for Comparative Studies: The Schooling of Irish and UK Cabinet Ministers

Authors:

Abstract

Elites and their formation have become of increasing public concern and research interest in recent years. The lessons from such research can be made more generalizable if a measure of elite formation could be developed that is comparable across countries. But, the nature of elite formation renders this a complex task. Nevertheless, in this paper, by building upon measures employed in other fields, such as industrial economics, we construct indices that facilitate the comparison of elite formation across countries. We illustrate this through a comparison of the schooling of Irish and British cabinet ministers.
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... In the discussion section, my findings are compared to other secondary data that highlight related themes on elitism, exclusivity and the reproduction of political and social privilege through secondary and higher education (cf. O'Rourke, Hogan & Donnelly, 2015; Howard & Gaztambide-­‐Fernandez, 2010; Malinowshi & Zorn, 1973). I turn now to outline the relevant literature, followed by the context and guiding concepts of the research. ...
... None of the pilot study scholars had degrees from elite schools, but they each had a degree from one of the UN universities. The large proportion of qualifications from only seven schools is in line with the reproduction of elite degrees as admissions capital in politics more widely and in the UN specifically (Malinowski & Zorn, 1973; O'Rourke, Hogan & Donnelly, 2015; Weiss, Carayannis, Emmerij & Jolly, 2005). Yet, while these schools are disproportionately represented, the other side of the equation indicates that nearly 75% of the lecturers do not have elite degrees. ...
... This trend was confirmed in my ethnographic case work at the UN university, and it is evidenced in other literature on the UN bodies (Weiss, Carayannis, Emmerij & Jolly, 2005). This relationship between power, capital and the elite, and the structural violence it supports, has been explicated by other scholars in relation to secondary and post-­‐secondary schooling in the US and UK (Cookson & Persell, 1985; Howard & Gaztambide-­‐Fernandez, 2010), the UK and Ireland (O'Rourke, Hogan & Donnelly, 2015), and in secondary schooling within the UN (Malinowski & Zorn, 1973; Weiss, Carayannis, Emmerij & Jolly, 2005). Third, at the level of the individual are at least two intersecting and sometimes competing theses. ...
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