Abstract

The field of sport for development (SfD) has built a strong body of knowledge on the potential of sport to address broad health and social issues, opportunities, and injustices. Within this field, there is an expanding cross-disciplinary area of inquiry focused on sport within correctional settings. Research topics have included rights and access to sport, program development, and delivery, the role that sport can play in individual development and support (e.g., rehabilitation, health), facility management and safety, and societal-level implications (e.g., recidivism). These topics have been explored through diverse disciplinary perspectives ranging from sport management to criminology and sociology. Our scoping review adopts a broad approach to map the current academic literature in sport and corrections and to answer the following review questions: (a) what is being studied in sport and correctional settings, (b) how is it being studied, (c) what conclusions can be drawn, and (d) where is the evidence being disseminated? Findings from the scoping review provide an opportunity to understand the current status of inquiry and have implications to inform a unified, transdisciplinary SfD research agenda moving forward.