Abstract
“Status attainment research”, which uses “path analysis” has prevailed in the studies of social stratification and mobility since Blau and Duncan's The American Occupational Structure (1967). This Research has a theoretical base and methodological framework which I call the “prestige-attainment paradigm”. This paradigm, however, has several methodological and theoretical limitations, and recent critiques have emphasized its distinctive character.
This paper discusses the distinctiveness of status attainment research derived from a particular social focus and movement : the egaritarian ideology, and from a neo-classical conception of a social structure : the functional theory of social stratification. Finally, examining critiques from the “structralism” viewpoint, I argue that we should give more attention to the structure of a stratification system.
