Abstract

ethnic minority backgrounds. It is now the white working class group that does least well at school, while ethnic minorities are already more likely to gain a degree than the white population as a whole. Despite this, there is still an ethnic employment penalty. This is partly explained by the higher social class family backgrounds of the white population (for now at least), partly by lower occupational standing in the workforce, and partly by employment discrimination. Ethnographic work with a rural white population picks up some signs of reduced educational aspirations and an orientation towards earlier rather than delayed success in the labour market. Younger white people may be experiencing the effects of more limited social mobility, compared with those from an ethnic minority background, in their views about economic rewards.