Extended kinship and significant others in education have been underinvestigated, despite their potentially powerful effects on schooling practices and outcomes. Researchers claim that there is a need to understand how social processes operate as intervening factors between social characteristics and performance variables. Some of the studies that have been conducted in this area have analyzed the influence of extended kinship and significant others' support on academic achievement, educational expectations, academic adjustment, social influences on undergraduates' decision to leave or remain in higher education, and the educational expectations and achievement of racial minority groups. The majority of these studies have used quantitative approaches.

Extended families comprise multigenerational and interdependent networks of social, emotional, and instrumental support; while significant others are those exercising a major influence over the ...