Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 8-1-2023

Abstract

Researchers have continuously explored the multiple ways in which grandparents affect their grandchildren’s environments, inside and outside of their homes. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in literature that regards custodial relationships between grandparents and grandchildren, pathways to custodial relationships and how these affect the grandparent’s methods of raising their grandchildren. Multiple researchers have analyzed educational attainment and progress of custodial grandchildren. This analysis focused on exploring existing data that considered how individuals with the mentioned custodial arrangements also possess diverse cultural backgrounds as their circumstance, and how both of these factors might affect children’s educational outcomes.

Throughout this research project, a systematic review with a meta-narrative framework was completed to explore existing literature regarding custodial grandparent – grandchildren relationships and offer various ideas to potentially enhance future research. After completing the analysis, recollected data demonstrated that custodial grandparents have various ways of affecting their grandchildren. Educational attainment and overall outcomes varied depending on the amount of grandparent exposure and the type of relationship grandparents/grandchildren possessed. Future research has great opportunity to explore cultural backgrounds and the manner in which these can affect custodial grandchildren’s academic outcomes.

Keywords

Grandparents, Grandchildren, Educational Outcomes, Cultural Backgrounds, Custodial Grandparents, Custodial Agreements

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

Degree Name

Educational Psychology

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Individual, Family, and Community Education

First Committee Member (Chair)

Dr. Carolyn Hushman

Second Committee Member

Dr. Terri Flowerday

Third Committee Member

Dr. Ashley Martin-Cuellar

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