Alvarez-Sotomayor, Alberto , MARTÍNEZ COUSINOU, GLORIA
No
Int. J. Sociol. Educ.
Article
Científica
01/06/2016
000378656500001
July 2016 will mark 50 years since the well-known Coleman Report was published. This report is undoubtedly a key publication in the field of Sociology of Education despite being considered extremely controversial upon its publication. This monographic issue of the International Journal of Sociology of Education has declared this anniversary as an opportunity to reassess some of the discussions generated from its main results. In this introductory paper, both the Coleman Report itself and subsequent debates over it are contextualized. An exploration of the social and political framework giving rise to the Report as well as its objectives, methodology and main issues are firstly analyzed. Additionally, its academic impact over the last five decades is also addressed. Finally, the main social and academic debate aroused by the Coleman Report is considered: the prominence of students\' socioeconomic origin versus schooling factors when explaining education inequality. This debate is also the common thread which links the three subsequent articles included in this monographic issue.
Coleman Report; academic achievement; socioeconomic status; school effects