James Coleman’s classic sociology study on the structural inequalities of the American education system has an ongoing influence in academia and in public discussions.

“One implication stands out above all: That schools bring little influence to bear on a child’s achievement that is independent of his background and general social context; and that this very lack of an independent effect means that the inequalities imposed on children by their home, neighbourhood, and peer environment are carried along to become the inequalities with which they confront adult life at the end of school.”