Introduction to Sports Policy

The aims for this module are set into the context of the QAA Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and they relate to the SEEC level descriptors for level 1 study.

With the London 2012 Olympics being at the forefront of current sports policy, it is imperative that students from a range of Chelsea courses are introduced to the issues and debates that frame the policy discussions which illuminate understanding of current sport policy. Specifically, this module aims to:

1. Introduce students to a range of policy debates in sport
2. Introduce students to methods in and through which the media covers sport policy.
3. Introduce students to the way in which they will have to deal with policy in their own professional practice

In relation to the QAA Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and the SEEC level descriptors for level 1 study, by the end of the module students should be able to:

1. Identify a range of policy debates in sport
2. Evaluate methods through which the media covers sport policy.
3. Identify ways in which professional practices deal with sports policy

• The module comprises a series of lectures (1 hour 40/50 minutes) to the whole cohort on the following:
• What is sport? What is sport policy and why is it so important? London 2012 – the Olympics/Paralympics and community/elite sport
• The Organisation of Sport in the UK
• The role of NGBs
• The role of Central and Local Government
• The role of local governance – networks and partnerships
• Sport, Local Communities and Social Inclusion
• Sport Policy and Coaching Policy
• The role of coaching in local communities
• Professional sport – 1 – governance
• Professional sport – 2 – talent identification
• Sport and Exercise Policy, Sport, Health and Policy for local communities
• PESSYP – the development of PESS policies and the five hour offer, the changing role of PE, adult participation and community health
• Funding Sport
• The Sports Policy Panel

Contact time:

Keynote lectures

Non-contact time:

Required reading and independent study

Preparation of Assessment

Books:

Coalter, F. (2007) Sport … Who’s Keeping the Score? London: Routledge.

Collins, M. (2003) Sport and Social Exclusion, London: Routledge.

Houlihan, B. & White, A. (2002) The Politics of Sports Development: development of sport or development through sport, London: Routledge.

Rowe, N. (ed. 2004) Driving up participation: The challenge for sport, London: Sport England,

Policy documents:

Sport England (2008) Grow, Sustain, Excel: the Sport England Strategy for 2008-2011, London: Sport England.

DCMS (2008) Before, During and After; Making the Most of the London 2012 Games, London: DCMS.

Journals:

• Coalter, F. (2007) ‘Sports Clubs, Social Capital and Social Regeneration: ill-defined interventions with hard to follow outcomes?’ Sport in Society, 10:4, 537 -559.
• Lindsey, I. (2008) ‘Conceptualising Sustainability in Sports Development’, Leisure Studies, 27:3, pp.279-294.

Electronic Sources:

 Papers from academic journals such as: Managing Leisure, Leisure Studies, Sport, Education and Society, Public Administration, Policy and Politics, International Review for the Sociology of Sport.

Internet site www.sportdevelopment.org (accessed November 17^th, 2008)

Other:

Numerous newspaper articles available via the electronic library