Where are all the parents? An analysis of visibility, representation, and information for parents on university websites

Abstract

Student parents, staff/faculty who are also parents, and parents of prospective or current students all form part of university communities, yet these groups have each received relatively little attention. Underpinned by the visible cue theory of representation, this study considers the extent to which parents are represented, made visible, and provided with information via higher education institution websites. Using web searches and manifest content analysis, we examined the text and images on 45 Australian and New Zealand public university websites. 592 webpages were identified that represented or targeted parents or parenting within the university community. All 45 universities had some parent/ing-related website content, but this content was largely restricted to dedicated parent-facing pages. Moreover, representations of parents were intersectionally thin, reproducing normative depictions of parents as able-bodied, non-Indigenous, and women. Websites are not politically neutral texts, but represent institutions’ deliberate self-curated depictions of their idealised identities and target communities. On the websites we examined, parents were there but not there: nodded to through some information and representation, yet restricted to particular corners of the website space. Universities must recognise parents as equal members of their communities and ensure better representation, visibility, and support for parents to facilitate equitable participation.