How families of primary school pupils in Galicia balance school and their everyday lives

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. This study analyses the impact of school hours on families with children in primary school and how often they use the different services and programmes offered by their schools (before-school care, after-school activities, etc.) according to their usual place of residence. Schools and how they organise their hours are considered key factors in school-family life balance. METHOD. The sample was selected by means of simple random sampling, taking into account the schools in each Galician province, their funding (state or private schools), their geographic context (rural or urban areas, in terms of high/intermediate/low population density) and the school year (years 1 to 6 in Primary Education). 3,400 questionnaires were given out and 2,037 of those collected were valid; therefore, the representativeness of the sample was highly guaranteed (error= 2.2%; confidence= 95.5%). RESULTS. The results show that school hours, after-school services and holidays are associated with families’ level of school-life balance . The association between, on the one hand, the level of school-family life balance and, on the other, the existence of services at the school and its geographic context has been detected. The different services offered by schools are more commonly used by families living in cities in order to organise their time more easily. DISCUSSION. This study reveals that school life has a direct impact on how families with children in Primary Education plan their everyday lives, and it shows the differences between urban and rural areas. There is a need to develop strategic actions which will reconcile the routines of children and their families so that they can be more
synchronised; and this is the task for society