James Coleman

James Samuel Coleman (May 12, 1926 – March 25, 1995) was an American sociologist, theorist and empirical researcher, based chiefly at the University of Chicago. He was elected president of the American Sociological Association. Coleman studied the sociology of education, public policy, and was one of the earliest users of the term "social capital". His Foundations of Social Theory influenced sociological theory. His The Adolescent Society (1961) and "Coleman Report" (Equality of Educational Opportunity, 1966) were two of the most heavily cited books in educational sociology. The landmark Coleman Report helped transform educational theory, reshape national education policies, and influenced public and scholarly opinion regarding the role of schooling in determining equality and productivity in the United States. Continue Reading »

The above description is from the Wikipedia article on James Coleman, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0. A full list of contributors can be found here.