Conflicts and Climate of Coexistence from the Perspective of Families of
Children in Secondary Education Centres

Abstract: This article addresses the perception held by families with respect to the climate of coexistence and conflicts in seven public (state) and private schools in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Our objective was to analyse the knowledge and assessment of families about an event, the climate of coexistence and conflict, which a priori, has held a prominent position in both media and research in the last two decades, which has sometimes appeared to create an image of invasive over-preoccupation in the education system. This study focuses on families with children in the second cycle of secondary education, post-compulsory (baccalaureate) for three years. The effective sample was 375 fathers and mothers, using a questionnaire as the evaluation instrument. Our results open up important questions regarding this phenomenon, which deserves reflection, because while on the one hand there is a significantly higher percentage of parents who acknowledge having witnessed violence or conflicts among students (and even among teachers) they do not appear to assign importance to this phenomenon, since there is a significant proportion of parents who consider that the general climate of coexistence is good and positive for the education of their children.

Key words: school conflict, co-existence, school & family, bullying