Schools still assume pupils have parents who are together

In 1987, UK researchers lamented how schools were organised "around the assumption that the nuclear family is the norm".

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Families who did not fit this model were "either ignored or categorised as abnormal".

Several generations have passed through schools since then. And as we know, it remains very common for parents to be separated or divorced.

But in the new research, interviewees report little has changed in schools' interactions with separated parents in the past 40 years. They say schools still treat the nuclear family as the default and assume pupils have a mom and dad who are together.

We interviewed 11 separated parents about their experiences with their children's schools. These parents were a subgroup from our previous study, which found more than half of separated parents surveyed had negative experiences with their children's school.

Interviewees repeatedly talked about how school information systems required families to identify a "primary parent".