TRANSFORMATION OF CHILDREN'S SOCIAL CAPITAL IN RURAL AREAS UNDER CONDITIONS OF LABOR MIGRATION

This article provides a theoretical analysis of how children’s social capital is transformed under labor migration in rural areas. It examines how the family, extended family and mahalla, peer and educational institution, and transnational forms of social capital are weakened, redistributed or expanded under the influence of parents’ prolonged stay abroad. Showing that migration is at the same time a source of financial opportunity and of social and emotional deprivation for children, the article proposes directions for micro-, meso- and macro-level interventions for social work professionals. The article is of practical relevance to social workers, teachers, psychologists and members of the mahalla seven.