At a time when the divide between the wealthy and the disadvantaged is widening, this major textbook provides students with a critical understanding of poverty and social exclusion in relation to wealth, rather than as separate from it. Raising fundamental questions about the organisation of society, social structures and relationships and social justice, the book is split into four main sections exploring key concepts and issues; 'people and place' (poverty and wealth across different groups and situations); the role of the state; and prospects for the future. This is the only textbook to focus on the links between wealth and poverty and contains an edited collection of chapters specially written by a distinguished panel of contributors including Pete Alcock, Daniel Dorling, Mary Shaw, Gill Scott and Jay Ginn. It is designed with the needs of students in mind and includes useful chapter summaries, illustrative boxes and diagrams, and pointers to relevant websites and other sources of further information. This is an essential textbook for level 1/2 undergraduate students studying social policy either as a main subject or as part of their course. It is a core text for level 3/4 specialist modules in this field.

Childhood poverty has moved from the periphery to the centre of the policy agenda following New Labour's pledge to end it within twenty years. However, whether the needs and concerns of poor children themselves are being addressed is open to question. The findings raise critical issues for both policy and practice - in particular the finding that children are at great risk of experiencing exclusion within school. School has been a major target in the drive towards reducing child poverty. However, the policy focus has been mainly about literacy standards and exclusion from school. This book shows that poor children are suffering from insufficient access to the economic and material resources necessary for adequate social participation and academic parity. Childhood poverty and social exclusion will be an invaluable teaching aid across a range of academic courses, including social policy, sociology, social work and childhood studies. All those who are interested in developing a more inclusive social and policy framework for understanding childhood issues from a child-centred perspective, including child welfare practitioners and policy makers, will want to read this book. Studies in poverty, inequality and social exclusion series Series Editor: David Gordon, Director, Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research. Poverty, inequality and social exclusion remain the most fundamental problems that humanity faces in the 21st century. This exciting series, published in association with the Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research at the University of Bristol, aims to make cutting-edge poverty related research more widely available. For other titles in this series, please follow the series link from the main catalogue page.