Published : 2023-11-28 — Updated on 2023-11-28

“Such a grace, an offer from heaven”:

Academic success between individualism and determinism

Abstract

The paper is a sociological analysis of the biography of a Polish academic who experienced upward mobility: coming from a working-class family with modest intellectual traditions, he succeeded in the academic and artistic world. Based on sociological data collected through biographical interviews with mobile upward academics, we capture the factors facilitating and hindering social mobility, as well as various aspects of subjective perception of such mobility. The analysis suggests that the academic success of upwardly mobile individuals is not always seen as a result of their hard work or a lucky coincidence but can be something betwixt and between these two opposing explanations. The paper answers the following questions: How was the subjective sense of success manifested by the interviewee? What events and people have supported or hindered his success? How did strong faith help the interviewee to develop his academic career?

Keywords:

social mobility, upward mobility, professional success, academic success, Divine Providence


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Kurek-Ochmańska, O., & Łuczaj, K. (2023). “Such a grace, an offer from heaven”:: Academic success between individualism and determinism. Biografistyka Pedagogiczna, 8(1), 677–708. https://doi.org/10.36578/BP.2023.08.28

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"Biografistyka Pedagogiczna" received funding for the years 2022-2024 from the funds of the Minister of Education and Science under the programme „Rozwój Czasopism Naukowych”.

Project duration: 2023-2024.

The amount of co-financing is 65 992,00 PLN

Contract number: RCN/SP/0434/2021/1