Abstract
The main objective of this qualitative study was to gain a comprehensive Understanding of the experiences of elementary education student raised solely by grandparents since birth without parental presence. Using purposive sampling and inclusion criteria, the participating two elementary education student raised solely by grandparents and her/his best friend or cousin will serve as informant. All of them participated in the in-depth interview. Through thematic analysis, patterns and common themes that emerged From the participants’ experiences were identified and grouped. This allowed for the extraction of core themes related to the challenges and strategies employed by elementary education student raised solely by grandparents. results revealed the unique characteristics of the participants: being unprioritized, needing financial support, having motivation, and feeling unsupported. In response to the challenges they have encountered, they deemed the following challenges encountered: confronting financial struggles, navigating emotional struggles, enduring financial constraintsand household, and feeling lack of support. In response to the challenges they have encountered, they deemed the following coping strategies overcome the challenges: they arrived at the following ways of coping mechanisms: handling adversity with guidance, drawing strength from grandparents, preserving for generalization gratitude, and trusting god; they arrived at the following insights the advice and recommendation of the elementary education student raised solely by grandparents without parent present since birth; seeking comfort and guidance from guidance, uplifting each other through adversity, and pressing forward amid familial challenges. The results of this study were deemed significant by the participants, grandparents, grandchildren, and researchers.
