Transitions to Parenthood in Europe
A Comparative Life Course Perspective
1st Edition
Published on 18. April 2012
Book
Hardback
224 pages
978-1-84742-864-6 (ISBN)
Description
This book takes a life course perspective, analysing and comparing the biographies of mothers and fathers in seven European countries in context. Based on an innovative, cross-national EU study, it examines the ways in which working parents negotiate the transition to parenthood and attempt to find a 'work-life balance'.
Using in-depth qualitative biographical data, the book offers a deep understanding of working parents' real lives by locating them within diverse national, workplace and family contexts. It provides rich insights into how policies and practices at the institutional level play out in individual and family lives, how they shape the decisions during both transition phases and in parents' daily experiences of juggling work and family life. It highlights some difficult and complex issues about the sustainability of contemporary working practices for bringing up children that are highly relevant in times of economic retrenchment.
'Transitions to parenthood in Europe' will be of interest to an academic readership at all levels of the social sciences, as well as employers, managers, trade unions and policy makers.
Using in-depth qualitative biographical data, the book offers a deep understanding of working parents' real lives by locating them within diverse national, workplace and family contexts. It provides rich insights into how policies and practices at the institutional level play out in individual and family lives, how they shape the decisions during both transition phases and in parents' daily experiences of juggling work and family life. It highlights some difficult and complex issues about the sustainability of contemporary working practices for bringing up children that are highly relevant in times of economic retrenchment.
'Transitions to parenthood in Europe' will be of interest to an academic readership at all levels of the social sciences, as well as employers, managers, trade unions and policy makers.
Reviews / Votes
"This collaborative study provides a subtle and multi-layered understanding of the transition to parenthood within a cross-national comparative framework. Here is a study which is heartily recommended not only to researchers and students of family and social policy but also to those interested in the practice and promise of comparative analysis." Emeritus Professor David Morgan, Morgan Centre for the Study of Relationships and Personal Life, University of ManchesterMore details
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Bristol
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bristol University Press
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
Not illustrated
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
438 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84742-864-6 (9781847428646)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Ann Nilsen | Julia Brannen | Suzan Lewis
Transitions to Parenthood in Europe
A Comparative Life Course Perspective
Book
05/2013
1st Edition
Policy Press
€45.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Ann Nilsen | Julia Brannen | Suzan Lewis
Transitions to Parenthood in Europe
A Comparative Life Course Perspective
E-Book
04/2012
1st Edition
Policy Press
€124.09
Available for download
Persons
Ann Nilsen is Professor of Sociology at the Department of Sociology, University of Bergen, Norway. Her extensive research experience is in areas of life course and biographical methods and transitions in the life course.
Julia Brannen is Professor of Sociology of the family at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education UK. Her research interests include gender and work-family issues, intergenerational relationships and research methodology. She is co-founder and co-editor of the International Journal of Social Research Methodology
Suzan Lewis is Professor of Organisational Psychology at the Department of Human Resource Management at Middlesex University Business School UK. Among her research themes are work-personal life issues, workplace practice and social policy issues. She is founder and former editor of the journal Community Work and Family.
Julia Brannen is Professor of Sociology of the family at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education UK. Her research interests include gender and work-family issues, intergenerational relationships and research methodology. She is co-founder and co-editor of the International Journal of Social Research Methodology
Suzan Lewis is Professor of Organisational Psychology at the Department of Human Resource Management at Middlesex University Business School UK. Among her research themes are work-personal life issues, workplace practice and social policy issues. She is founder and former editor of the journal Community Work and Family.
Content
Introduction ~ Ann Nilsen, Julia Brannen, Suzan Lewis; Cross-national comparisons: the history-biography link ~ Ann Nilsen; Methodological approaches, practice and reflection ~ Julia Brannen, Ann Nilsen; Comparing transitions to motherhood across contexts ~Ann Nilsen, Maria dos Dores Guerreiro, Siyka Kovacheva, Janet Smithson; Comparing transitions to fatherhood across contexts ~Lars Plantin, Margareta Baeck-Wicklund, Siyka Kovacheva and Maria das Dores Guerreiro; Supports and constraints for parents: a gendered cross-national perspective ~ Janet Smithson, Suzan Lewis, Siyka Kovacheva, Laura den Dulk, Bram Peper, Anneke van Doorne-Huiskes; being a working parent in the present: case comparisons in time and place ~ Julia Brannen and Nevenka Sadar Cernigoj; Discussion and conclusions ~ Suzan Lewis, Ann Nilsen, Julia Brannen.