JAMES SAMUEL

COLEMAN
1926-1995
• James Samuel Coleman
was an American
sociologist, theorist, and
empirical researcher,
based chiefly at the
University of Chicago. He
was elected president of
the American Sociological
Association. He studied
the sociology of education
and public policy, and was
one of the earliest users
of the term "social capital.
His "The Adolescent Society" (1961) and
"Coleman Report" (Equality of Educational
Opportunity, 1966)
 Disadvantaged black children learn better in
well-integrated classrooms. That was the
conclusion Hopkins sociologist James S.
Coleman reached in the 1966 report Equality of
Educational Opportunity--a conclusion that
would help set in motion the mass busing of
students to achieve racial balance in public
schools.
“mental games”
 The notion that there should be equality of
opportunity in education:
Where everyone has fair and equal access to a good
quality education regardless of social background, race,
gender or religion
Where people achieve success in education according to
their efforts and ability, free of any form of discrimination.
Everyone has the right to education
That education shall be free at least in the elementary or
fundamental stages
That education shall be directed to the full development
of the human personality.