specific needs of children and elderly left behind as a ... - IOM Moldova

The perception Children’s of labour education migration
erence (groups as “the class”, “the school”): “I am being encouraged to
study in order to have a decent, senior level job in my country, and that’s
what I aspire to” (FG_C_3_rural); “There are children who think that if my
parents didn’t study I won’t do it either and I’ll go to Moscow just like them
but it’s not true! Because they say: learn to win, because all this knowledge
will contribute to your development within society” (FG_C_3_rural).
Good school results, for children who suffer from loneliness because of
their parents’ absence, depend on a friendly atmosphere in the school
environment: “I feel better at school, I’m happy” (III_C_3); “I don’t like
to be punished at school” (III_C_10); “I want the school to become better”
(III_C_24).
Solving educational issues can be effective and positive in these situations
only if it is based on pupils’ individualized approaches, taking into
consideration a pupil’s personality, his/her relationship with the educator
and his/her attitude towards any applied pedagogical procedure. Continuous
collaboration with the family (both with the members who are
abroad and the people who take care of the child) leads to discovery of
the mistakes existing in the relationship with the child and helps the family,
through communication and positive interaction, to stop the failure
going further, so to be successful and improve the child’s school results.
The case of a 15 year old boy, whose mother has been abroad for eight
years and who stays with his 20 year old aunt is quite eloquent. The person
who supports him has no authority and no experience, the permanent
absence of his mother who comes home once a year, or every two
years, leads to a decrease of sincerity in relationships and increases the
difficulty of adjusting the reality to his requirements and to the distortion
of his situation: “I have a lot of bad marks but I don’t say it because
she is on at me” (III_C_29). Not all parents can guide their children in a
correct manner, especially when they are not near. This is why teachers
have to possess information concerning these families in order to support
parents to become positive factors in the development of their
children, as well as for children to be motivated and to feel the need of
their parents to return home. Children have their own solution for these
problems that have to be correctly approached: “To listen to several opinions
and to come to a conclusion. When our parents call us we ask them
and we ask our friends and teachers who we get along with the best and
that is how we solve the problems” (FG_C_2_rural).
The importance of an efficient partnership in education, especially of
the school-family partnership, is undeniable. In this context the experts
of the Ministry of Education revealed obstacles that can appear in this
partnership: “It can be of a financial and behavioural character. The barriers
that appear refer to the incorrect or partial perception of responsibilities
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