The research group Parenting, Equality and Work-Life Balance Policies of the Institute of Advanced Family Studies (IESF) held a seminar on Monday, 16 June 2014, to discuss the research study Parent-Child Relations: An Analysis of the Situation in Spain. Aurora Bernal, a lecturer at the Universidad de Navarra, took part in the seminar. The study, based on the results of a 2011 survey of 2,000 families, reveals interesting findings about younger generations' perceptions of the nuclear family unit.
The seminar also explored other topics such as family and identity, the role of grandparents in education, and the transmission of values, especially solidarity. Aurora Bernal, a lecturer and expert in civic education, has taken part in numerous research projects on the importance of the family unit as the basis of social capital.
Since 2006, the Council of Europe has recommended that policies be developed to make legal, administrative and financial resources available to promote solidarity as a positive aspect of responsible parenting. In addition, the Europe 2020 Strategy addresses issues such as children’s rights, social-cohesion and conflict-prevention policies to prevent school failure, and encouraging full-time employment that is compatible with a healthy work-life balance.
Recently recognized as an Emerging Research Group by the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR), the IESF research group studies upbringing, socialization and education within the family as an indispensable means of contributing to society. The research group’s objectives for the coming academic year are to continue studying positive parenting, co-parenting, work-life balance, and family-school relations, and to assess family policies, the topic of the first Family Policy Evaluation Seminar, which was sponsored by the Joaquim Molins Figueras Foundation.
