James Samuel Coleman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids James Samuel Coleman
Born	(1926-05-12)May 12, 1926 Bedford, Indiana, United States
Died	March 25, 1995(1995-03-25) (aged 68) Chicago, Illinois, United States
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Purdue University Columbia University
Scientific career
Fields	Sociological theory, Mathematical sociology
Doctoral advisor	Paul Lazarsfeld
Doctoral students	Ronald S. Burt
Influences	Robert K. Merton and James Burnham

James Samuel Coleman (born May 12, 1926 – died March 25, 1995) was an important American sociologist. He was a researcher and a thinker, mostly working at the University of Chicago.

He became the president of the American Sociological Association in 1991. Coleman studied how education and public rules affect society. He was also one of the first people to use the term social capital. This term describes the value of connections between people.

His book Foundations of Social Theory (1990) greatly influenced many ideas in sociology. His other works, The Adolescent Society (1961) and the "Coleman Report" (Equality of Educational Opportunity, 1966), are among the most famous books in the study of education. The Coleman Report was a very important study. It changed how people thought about education and helped shape new education policies in the United States. It also made people think about how schools help create fairness and success.

Early Life and Education

James Samuel Coleman grew up in Bedford, Indiana, and later moved to Louisville, Kentucky. After finishing high school in 1944, he joined the US Navy during World War II.

After leaving the Navy in 1946, he went to Indiana University. He later transferred to Purdue University, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering in 1949. He worked for a few years at Eastman Kodak.

Then, Coleman became interested in sociology, which is the study of society. He went to Columbia University to study it. He earned his doctorate degree from Columbia University in 1955.

Coleman's Career and Research

Coleman became well-known for his studies on problem-solving. These included An Introduction to Mathematical Sociology (1964) and Mathematics of Collective Action (1973). He taught at Stanford University and the University of Chicago.

In 1959, he moved to Johns Hopkins University. There, he became a professor and started the Sociology department. He later returned to the University of Chicago in 1973.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, Coleman was chosen as a member of important groups. These included the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the United States National Academy of Sciences.

Coleman believed that studying human society could become a true science. He explored how math could help understand social behavior better. He thought that using math would make sociology more useful.

Later in his career, he became a professor and director at the National Opinion Research Center. In 1991, Coleman was elected president of the American Sociological Association. He wrote over 30 books and many articles. These works helped people understand education in the United States much better.

Coleman was influenced by other thinkers like James Burnham and Paul Lazarsfeld. They got him interested in using math in sociology. Robert Merton introduced him to the ideas of Émile Durkheim. Coleman's work is often linked to topics like adolescence, group actions, and rational choice.

Major Contributions to Sociology

The Coleman Report on Education

Coleman is very famous in the field of sociology of education. In the 1960s, he and other experts were asked to write a report on how equal education was in the US. This was one of the biggest studies ever done. It included over 650,000 students.

The report, called Equality of Educational Opportunity (1966), is also known as the "Coleman Report." It started many discussions about how much schools really affect students. A key finding was that how much money a school had did not seem to have a big effect on student success.

The report found that schools for Black and White students had similar buildings and classes. However, a big difference in test scores already existed when Black and White children started first grade. This gap grew even wider by the end of elementary school. The most important factor explaining differences in scores was the parents' education and financial situation. This meant that a student's family background was more important for their education than the school itself. The attitudes of parents and friends towards education were especially key.

Understanding Social Capital

In his book Foundations of Social Theory (1990), Coleman talked about his idea of social capital. This term refers to the helpful resources found in family relationships and in a community's social groups. Coleman believed that social capital is very helpful for a child's learning and social growth.

He explained three main types of capital:

• Human capital: This is an individual's skills, knowledge, and experience. These things help determine their value in society.
• Physical capital: This is about physical things, like tools or machines. These are used to make other things.
• Social capital: This comes from the connections and relationships people have with others.

Coleman thought that social capital and human capital often work together. For example, having certain skills or knowledge can help a person gain a better social status. This can then lead to more social connections and benefits.

Coleman's Lasting Impact

Coleman was a leader in creating mathematical models for sociology. His book Introduction to Mathematical Sociology (1964) was very important for this. His later work, Foundations of Social Theory (1990), helped make sociological theories more exact.

Coleman wrote more than thirty books and many articles. He also started a company that made "mental games" to help students who faced challenges. He would even send his most debated research findings to his strongest critics before publishing them. He called this "the best way to ensure validity" (meaning accuracy).

At the time of his death, he was working on a long study called High School and Beyond. This study looked at the lives of 75,000 people who were in high school in 1980.

Coleman's ideas about education are still important today. His work helped shape the field of education. He also raised questions about how to make education systems more responsible. This made educators think about how they use and understand standardized tests.

The "Coleman Report" had a huge impact. Its findings helped lead to the desegregation (ending separation by race) of American public schools. His ideas about integration also played a role. He also brought up the issue of closing the education gap between rich and poor students. He believed that having a diverse group of students in a school could greatly benefit everyone's learning experience.

Selected works

• Community Conflict (1955)
• Union Democracy: The Internal Politics of the International Typographical Union (1956, with Seymour Martin Lipset and Martin Trow)
• The Adolescent Society: The Social Life on the Teenager and its Impact on Education (1961)
• Introduction to Mathematical Sociology (1964)
• Models of Change and Response Uncertainty (1964)
• Adolescents and the Schools (1965)
• Equality of Educational Opportunity (1966)
• Macrosociology: Research and Theory (1970)
• Resources for Social Change: Race in the United States (1971)
• Youth: Transition to Adulthood (1974)
• High School Achievement (1982)
• The Asymmetrical Society (1982)
• Individual Interests and Collective Action (1986)
• "Social Theory, Social Research, and a Theory of Action", article in American Journal of Sociology 91: 1309–35 (1986).
• 'Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital", article in American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 94, Supplement: Organizations and Institutions: Sociological and Economic Approaches to the Analysis of Social Structure, pp. S95–120 (1988)
• The Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard University Press.
• Equality and Achievement in Education (1990)
• Redesigning American Education (1997, with Barbara Schneider, Stephen Plank, Kathryn S. Schiller, Roger Shouse, & Huayin Wang)

See also

In Spanish: James Samuel Coleman para niños

• Economic sociology
• Rational choice theory
• Effective schools