One of the greatest challenges facing human-service agencies today is to meet the multifaceted needs of their diverse clients and participants. Diversity and the Recreation Profession is about those challenges. It is about the capacity of recreation, not-for-profit, and tourism professionals and their programs to be sensitive to the needs of diverse constituents and to understand the nature of the barriers that inhibit opportunities for people of difference. It is about the capacity and willingness of those in these professions to question the status quo and to ask both how we might better serve individuals who are often marginalized in our society and who could benefit from involvement in our programs. It is about bringing those often inadvertently pushed to the fringes back to the center.
This revised edition brings together the voices of academic professionals to discuss diversity issues and challenges. It provides avenues for academic professionals to describe the most salient scientific issues and findings related to organizational diversity and discuss implications for practice and program management. Similarly, seasoned-agency professionals—who have worked in agencies such as Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA’s, the USDA Forest Service, tourism and hospitality industries, museums, and theme parks—share their own thoughts and experiences about workplace diversity. The contributors invite us to think about diversity from a range of perspectives and provide us with important tools for the journey ahead.
The book is organized around six dimensions of diversity: ability, age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and social class. As many of the authors remind us, however, these identities do not exist in isolation; individuals have multiple identities that interact in very complex ways.
This edition not only updates information and resources for effective organizational approaches to diversity but expands the creative concepts and consistent message of why diversity remains critical for organizational and community success. An Instructor’s Manual and a PowerPoint presentation are available upon request.
Instructors' materials available upon request.
Chapter 1: Introduction: Diversity in Organizational Perspective
Chapter 2: Voices From the Field I
Chapter 3: Disability as Diversity
Chapter 4: Gender Issues and Recreation Management
Chapter 5: Social Class and Leisure Provision
Chapter 6: Voices From the Field II
Chapter 7: Acting Our Age: The Relationship Between Age and Leisure
Chapter 8: (De)Constructing the “Other”: Fostering Leisure and the Development of Sexual Identities
Chapter 9: Trends and Research on Race, Ethnicity, and Leisure: Implications for Management
Chapter 10: Voices From the Field III
Chapter 11: Organizational Learning: An Approach to Enhance and Respond to Diversity
Chapter 12: Training for Diversity
Chapter 13: Beyond Cultural Competence: Building Allies and Sharing Power in Recreational Programs
Chapter 14: The Journey Toward a More Inclusive Organization
