Tackling social exclusion should be a central aim of social policy. In this fully revised and updated new edition of his groundbreaking study, Sport and Social Exclusion, Mike Collins has assembled a vast array of evidence from a range of global sources to demonstrate how the effects of social exclusion are as evident in sport as they are in any area of society. The book uses sport as an important case study for critical reflection on existing social policy and explores sport's role as a source of new initiatives for tackling exclusion. It examines key topics such as: * What we mean by 'social exclusion' * How social exclusion affects citizenship and the chance to play sport * How exclusion from sport is linked to poverty, class, age, gender, ethnicity, disability, and involvement in youth delinquency * How exclusion is linked to concepts of personal and communal social capital. Sport and Social Exclusion features a wealth of original research data, including new and previously unpublished material, as well as a range of important new studies of social exclusion policy and practice in the UK and elsewhere.
This revised edition surveys all the most important changes in the policy landscape since first publication in 2002 and, crucially, explores the likely impact of the London Olympic Games on sport policy in the UK. The book concludes with some typically forthright recommendations from the author regarding the success of existing policies and the best way to tackle exclusion from sport and society in the future. By relating current policy to new research the book provides an essential guidebook for students, academics and policy makers working in sport policy and development.
