Invisible perceptions: understanding the perceptions of university tutors towards trainee teachers with parental responsibilities

In recent decades, Higher Education has undoubtedly changed giving rise to an increasingly diverse student population. However, there has been only limited research on students with parental responsibilities. When they are considered, this is often in a somewhat pejorative way. The challenges faced by such trainees are often invisible. This paper is focused on the contextual understandings and perspectives of university based staff involved in training pre-service teachers with parental responsibilities. The theoretical framework of this paper is based on the concept of institutional habitus, and questions whether the actions of individuals and practices within the often rigid structures of universities make teacher training more difficult for some groups than others.