Strengths, weaknesses and challenges in the management of school coexistence: significance of the management teams of primary and secondary education schools

• Main Authors: Susana Lázaro-Visa, Eva Gómez, Marta García-Lastra, Noelia Fernández-Rouco
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Asociación Nacional de Psicología Evolutiva y Educativa de la Infancia Adolescencia Mayores y Discapacidad 2019-08-01
• Series: INFAD
• Subjects: convivencia escolar; equipos directivos; educación primaria; educación secundaria
• Online Access: http://www.infad.eu/RevistaINFAD/OJS/index.php/IJODAEP/article/view/1506
• ISSN: 0214-9877; 2603-5987

School coexistence has become a central issue in educational policies and practices. However, its significance in schools and the means to promote it are set and administered from different approaches. The purpose of this work is to understand the ways in which school management teams can represent coexistence, the strengths they have identified in their management, as well as the difficulties and challenges they face. Through exploratory design and qualitative methodology, 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of management teams from different schools in Cantabria (Spain). The interviews centred on the implications associated with coexistence, the actions that constitute coexistence in the educational centre, as well as the associated possibilities, difficulties and pending challenges. By means of a thematic codification process, a comparative analysis of the narratives grouped under the same code was carried out, incorporating the conceptually and methodologically consistent topics. NVivo 12 Plus was applied. The results demonstrate that coexistence is viewed as a means to facilitate academic formation, but also as an end in itself, oriented towards the development and integral formation of students, favouring the construction of an active and participatory citizenship. In spite of the value accorded, difficulties such as high staff turnover or low family involvement stand out as key barriers to improvement. In the context of future challenges, management teams emphasise the need for formation, reflection and analysis of proposals already underway and the overall involvement of the centre.