Voluntary work in sport and leisure policies: an analysis from cases of open school program

Abstract

The present essay reports the results of a survey that aims at understanding the meaning of voluntary work and its implications in the development of Sports and Leisure Public Policies. Being a qualitative research, it has been based on field journal information and semi?structured interviews. Two basic categories have been analyzed: voluntary work identities, and its consequences in the development of public policies. We have We found that volunteer work is represented as a gift and/or economic relationship, a notion/condition. Even though, for many people, this work represents the possibility of access to sport and leisure, we identified that has implications: the precariousness of care; precarious social control, and the horizontal extension of the state.