The intergenerational reproduction of self-direction at work: Revisiting Class and Conformity
In his path-breaking monograph, , Melvin Kohn reasoned that parents prepare their children for the same conditions of work that they themselves experience. Kohn and his colleagues' research focused on the influence of parental self-direction at work on parental child-rearing values and practice...
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| Published in: | Social forces Vol. 104; no. 1; p. 320 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
England
01.09.2025
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| ISSN: | 0037-7732 |
| Online Access: | Get more information |
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| Abstract | In his path-breaking monograph,
, Melvin Kohn reasoned that parents prepare their children for the same conditions of work that they themselves experience. Kohn and his colleagues' research focused on the influence of parental self-direction at work on parental child-rearing values and practices, as well as the self-directed values of children. The intergenerational transmission of occupational self-direction from parents to the succeeding generation of adult children, strongly implied by Kohn's analysis, has not been empirically tested. Using two-generation longitudinal data from the Youth Development Study (
= 1139), we estimate a structural equation model to assess the intergenerational continuity of occupational self-direction. We find evidence supporting a key inference of Kohn's analysis: that self-direction at work, a primary feature of jobs of higher social class standing, is transmitted across generations via self-directed psychological orientations, operationalized here as intrinsic work values. Intrinsic values also significantly predicted second-generation educational attainment, contributing further to the reproduction of socioeconomic inequality. The findings enhance understanding of the intergenerational transmission of advantage. |
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| AbstractList | In his path-breaking monograph,
, Melvin Kohn reasoned that parents prepare their children for the same conditions of work that they themselves experience. Kohn and his colleagues' research focused on the influence of parental self-direction at work on parental child-rearing values and practices, as well as the self-directed values of children. The intergenerational transmission of occupational self-direction from parents to the succeeding generation of adult children, strongly implied by Kohn's analysis, has not been empirically tested. Using two-generation longitudinal data from the Youth Development Study (
= 1139), we estimate a structural equation model to assess the intergenerational continuity of occupational self-direction. We find evidence supporting a key inference of Kohn's analysis: that self-direction at work, a primary feature of jobs of higher social class standing, is transmitted across generations via self-directed psychological orientations, operationalized here as intrinsic work values. Intrinsic values also significantly predicted second-generation educational attainment, contributing further to the reproduction of socioeconomic inequality. The findings enhance understanding of the intergenerational transmission of advantage. In his path-breaking monograph, Class and Conformity, Melvin Kohn reasoned that parents prepare their children for the same conditions of work that they themselves experience. Kohn and his colleagues' research focused on the influence of parental self-direction at work on parental child-rearing values and practices, as well as the self-directed values of children. The intergenerational transmission of occupational self-direction from parents to the succeeding generation of adult children, strongly implied by Kohn's analysis, has not been empirically tested. Using two-generation longitudinal data from the Youth Development Study (N = 1139), we estimate a structural equation model to assess the intergenerational continuity of occupational self-direction. We find evidence supporting a key inference of Kohn's analysis: that self-direction at work, a primary feature of jobs of higher social class standing, is transmitted across generations via self-directed psychological orientations, operationalized here as intrinsic work values. Intrinsic values also significantly predicted second-generation educational attainment, contributing further to the reproduction of socioeconomic inequality. The findings enhance understanding of the intergenerational transmission of advantage.In his path-breaking monograph, Class and Conformity, Melvin Kohn reasoned that parents prepare their children for the same conditions of work that they themselves experience. Kohn and his colleagues' research focused on the influence of parental self-direction at work on parental child-rearing values and practices, as well as the self-directed values of children. The intergenerational transmission of occupational self-direction from parents to the succeeding generation of adult children, strongly implied by Kohn's analysis, has not been empirically tested. Using two-generation longitudinal data from the Youth Development Study (N = 1139), we estimate a structural equation model to assess the intergenerational continuity of occupational self-direction. We find evidence supporting a key inference of Kohn's analysis: that self-direction at work, a primary feature of jobs of higher social class standing, is transmitted across generations via self-directed psychological orientations, operationalized here as intrinsic work values. Intrinsic values also significantly predicted second-generation educational attainment, contributing further to the reproduction of socioeconomic inequality. The findings enhance understanding of the intergenerational transmission of advantage. |
| Author | Johnson, Monica Kirkpatrick Mele, Francesca Han, Xiaowen Burger, Kaspar Mortimer, Jeylan |
| Author_xml | – sequence: 1 givenname: Kaspar orcidid: 0000-0001-5582-7062 surname: Burger fullname: Burger, Kaspar organization: Social Research Institute, Institute of Education, University College London, 55-59 Gordon Square, WC1H 0AL London, United Kingdom – sequence: 2 givenname: Francesca surname: Mele fullname: Mele, Francesca organization: Social Research Institute, Institute of Education, University College London, 55-59 Gordon Square, WC1H 0AL London, United Kingdom – sequence: 3 givenname: Monica Kirkpatrick surname: Johnson fullname: Johnson, Monica Kirkpatrick organization: Department of Sociology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-4020, United States of America – sequence: 4 givenname: Jeylan surname: Mortimer fullname: Mortimer, Jeylan organization: Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, 267 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States of America – sequence: 5 givenname: Xiaowen surname: Han fullname: Han, Xiaowen organization: Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, 267 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States of America |
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| Keywords | inequality/social stratification work/labor process social psychology life course |
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| Snippet | In his path-breaking monograph,
, Melvin Kohn reasoned that parents prepare their children for the same conditions of work that they themselves experience.... In his path-breaking monograph, Class and Conformity, Melvin Kohn reasoned that parents prepare their children for the same conditions of work that they... |
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| Title | The intergenerational reproduction of self-direction at work: Revisiting Class and Conformity |
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