The Coleman Report: A lesson in sociology and politics

Abstract

The Coleman Report was a touchstone and it is today an icon in the history of the sociology of education due to its huge dimensions, its fit into egalitarian policies, its emphasis on social determinants and a redefinition of equality of opportunity. But it also meant a twist in educational research, from an initial focus in resources to a focus in results, even if it remained inside the paradigm of school as a black box. By singularizing the role of the peer group, it was embedded in the permanent interest of Coleman in mesostructures, from adolescent culture to social capital. It was also an ethical example by an independent researcher who arrived to findings which were different from those that he expected and other expected from him, and so he had to face the dark and inquisitorial side of academic liberalism.