Enough is enough: Grandmother caregivers' strategies for mitigating out-of-school suspensions for African–American youth

Supporting grandchildren's remote instruction during COVID‐19: Experiences of custodial grandmothers

“…Before the COVID‐19 pandemic, custodial grandparents reported challenges related to their grandchildren's education, including using technology (Gibson & McGlynn, 2013 ; Peterson, 2016 ; Shakya et al, 2012 ). Our study confirms that children raised by grandparents were likely to experience this “digital divide,” and that lack of access to technology and the internet negatively impacted grandchildren's ability to participate in remote instruction, especially in households with multiple grandchildren.…”

“…Previous research suggests that CGMs may be unfamiliar with the content of their grandchildren's coursework and contemporary pedagogical strategies (Gibson & McGlynn, 2013 ; Peterson, 2016 ; Shakya et al, 2012 ). This helps to partially explain our finding that CGMs struggled in the role of “teacher.” However, our findings extend previous work by providing insight into specific instructional strategies that made remote instruction challenging for CGM—these included poorly organized instruction, inappropriate amounts/types of schoolwork, and lack of teacher engagement.…”

“…The experience of remote instruction during COVID‐19 is also likely to be influenced by grandparents' pre‐pandemic experiences with their grandchildren's schools. Grandparents often lack knowledge about school policies, disciplinary approaches, and pedagogical strategies (Gibson & McGlynn, 2013 ). They may also struggle to assist their grandchildren with homework and navigate technology (Peterson, 2016 ).…”

“…This population has grown over the last several decades, primarily due to parental substance misuse (Dolbin‐MacNab & O'Connell, 2021 ), but could grow further due to adult COVID‐19 deaths (Hillis et al, 2021 ). Custodial grandchildren may be uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of remote instruction due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, as they have already experienced upheaval in their homes due to the absence of their birth parent(s), and because many have prepandemic histories of academic and socioemotional difficulties (Billing et al, 2002 ; Pilkauskas & Dunifon, 2016 ; Smith & Palmieri, 2007 ; Smith et al, 2019 ; Solomon & Marx, 1995 ) as well as school‐related challenges (Edwards, 2018 ; Gibson & McGlynn, 2013 ; Lee et al, 2017 ). Also relevant are contextual stressors such as grandparent psychological distress and adversity related to systemic inequalities stemming from poverty and being a racial and ethnic minority (Generations United, 2020 ; Hayslip et al, 2017 ).…”

‘Kufunika kwa mtundu/fuko’ (Family circle): Understanding experiences of grandparents raising grandchildren in Malawi

“…These struggles include limited social support (Musil et al, 2009) and access to community resources (Letiecq et al, 2008). Furthermore, some grandparents raising grandchildren in the United States report strained relationships with their grandchildren’s school (Gibson and McGlynn, 2013). Often, US grandparent-headed families experience family dysfunction (Smith et al, 2008), which causes additional stress to the custodial grandparents.…”