The twentieth century has been marked by the expansion of educational opportunities worldwide. It has been the century of education, and the role of the state in the promotion of public education has been decisive. Yet, at the millennium's turn efforts to diminish the role of the state are rapidly changing education, especially in terms of its role in democracy. This comprehensive handbook offers a fresh view of the social context of education, outlining the challenges as well as the advan...

Recent years have witnessed major changes to the workplace across Europe. The speed of these changes requires constant monitoring and reappraisal. In this book, recent trends are analyzed and their consequences discussed, within a socio-historical context which also reveals underlying patterns of continuity. The trends analyzed include: � the presence of high rates of endemic unemployment and underemployment, particularly amongst the young � the growth of insecure and precarious employment...

Exclusion has come to hold a prominent place in the political discourse of all governments in the European Union and in the European Commission itself. As such, it figures importantly in various research agencies’ funding priorities attracting academics to develop and conduct major research programmes. But what does it mean? This book analyzes the different meanings the term exclusion has come to convey and surveys a wide variety of actual applications in different European countries.

Arranged around the themes of theorizing and policy-making, race, ethnicity and religion, gender, and class, inequality and welfare, this book addresses the question of whether the European Union tends towards diversification or standardization. It engages with issues of identity, citizenship and social justice, changes throughout the life course, social movements, the reconciliation of work and life, the increasing diversity of cultural values, and integration and immigration, whilst also...

The book examines the integration of European trade union movement and explores the prospects for European or transnational solidarity among workers.Contrary to much existing research and despite national differences, Gajewska examines how trade unions cooperate and the forms in which this cooperation take place. Drawing on four case studies illustrating experiences of Polish, German, British, Latvian and Swedish trade unions in various sectors and workers’ representatives at a mul...

"A comprehensive and highly readable review of the conceptual underpinnings of economic geography. Students and professional scholars alike will find it extremely useful both as a reference manual and as an authoritative guide to the numerous theoretical debates that characterize the field."- Allen J. Scott, University of California"Guides readers skilfully through the rapidly changing field of economic geography... The key concepts used to structur...

What is Urban Theory? How can it be used to understand our urban experiences? Experiences typically defined by enormous inequalities, not just between cities but within cities, in an increasingly interconnected and globalised world. This book explains:Relations between urban theory and modernity in key ideas of the Chicago School, spatial analysis, humanistic urban geography, and ‘radical′ approaches like MarxismCities and...

Arguing that policy has become an increasingly central concept and instrument in the organisation of contemporary societies and that it now impinges on all areas of life so that it is virtually impossible to ignore or escape its influence, this book argues that the study of policy leads straight into issues at the heart of anthropology.

The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Work and Employment is a landmark collection of original contributions by leading specialists from around the world.The coverage is both comprehensive and comparative (in terms of time and space) and each ‘state of the art’ chapter provides a critical review of the literature combined with some thoughts on the direction of research. This authoritative text is structured around six core themes:Historical Context an...

Back in 1972, German political sociologist Claus Offe published a book on the Structural Problems of Late Capitalism which, for almost two decades, inspired and stimulated an international and transdisciplinary debate on the role of the state in contemporary capitalism. An academic debate which, paradoxically, began to wane as the issues about which Offe had been writing became even more prominent: the "Contradictions of the Welfare State" (the title of a collection of Offe’s main...

Participation is a key community work method and this text, written by an international selection of authors, covers innovative approaches in community based education and practice. Including real-life case studies of participatory practice, it offers new definitions of community work, organisation and development and will challenge and inspire all those involved in community work practice and research.Divided into four parts, Participation in Community Work begins by expl...

The Routledge Companion to the Professions and Professionalism is a state-of-the-art reference work which maps out the current developments and debates around the sociology of the professions, and how they relate to management and organizations.Supported by an international contributor team specializing in the disciplines of organizational studies and sociology, the collection provides extensive coverage of this field of research. It brings together the core concepts and i...