Extract
[...] Noting that Coleman's contribution to understanding educational inequalities is much broader4. In the 1980s, Coleman notably focused on the contribution of the private sector to ethnic segregation, and the impact of attending a private school on academic success. With his co-authors, he concludes on this subject, on the one hand that the private sector contributes only weakly to ethnic segregation in high school - contrary to a frequently advanced idea in public debate - and on the other hand that at a fixed family environment, students from private high schools achieve better performance. [...]
[...] A look at the other contributions published in the book In the same book, several contributors propose another look at educational inequalities. While testifying to the esteem for Coleman's work, which they consider to be a major contribution to sociological literature on education, they sometimes also adopt a critical perspective. We give below a few examples of these contributions. A. Effects of Differentiated Social and Ethnic Diversity T.F. Pettigrew provides an important extension to the findings of the Coleman report. [...]
[...] In the end, despite the criticisms of authors who point out the limitations of Coleman's sociological approach, his work remains a reference in the analysis of educational inequalities. By highlighting the issues of equal opportunity and the "racial divide" and its link to ethnic segregation, the main author of the 1966 report emphasized the need to reduce this segregation in order to progress towards equal opportunity. Subsequently, the report was mobilized in support of the implementation of desegregation policies in the United States, particularly of busing, even though Coleman himself was not in favor of this option3. [...]
[...] The same author regrets that Coleman's conclusions were based solely on a cross-sectional analysis, a given year. According to him, it would have been preferable to proceed with a longitudinal study, taking into account, in the analysis of inequalities at a given school level, the weight of initial school level inequalities. C. The Demand for Greater Equity in the Distribution of Resources While Coleman's conclusions downplay the importance of resources allocated to institutions, other contributions highlight the need for a more equitable distribution of resources, benefiting students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. [...]
[...] First, the Coleman Report also notes the significant segregation found in the American school system. This situation can be characterized by the considerable number of white students in schools that are essentially composed of white students, in 1965. At that time, in first grade and in high school, approximately 80% of white students were enrolled in a school where 90 to 100% of students were white. This state of discrimination reaches its highest degree in the Southern states, among the six ethnic groups considered in this research, including Puerto Ricans, Hispanics, Indians, African Americans, Asians, and Whites. [...]
