The peculiarities of social and educational assistance (services) for children of emigrated parents. Lithuania study case

The financial crisis led to the growth of emigration in Lithuania. Emigration of family members should be treated not as the problem of an individual but a family. Lithuania is left by 5 thousand married and 1 thousand divorced people. Due to the parents' departure abroad child’s socialization is at risk. A lot of scholars note that the socialization process is most active in childhood. Therefore, the absence of necessary socialization premises increases the likelihood of occurrence of change to negative child behaviour. Researchers found out that the majority of children whose parents are away from Lithuanian experience negative changes in behaviour. As a result, they tend to be depressed, angry and frequent crying outbreaks occur. What is more, poorer relationships with peers and teachers, deteriorating school attendance and achievement are the most common problems those children face. Thus, social educator and teacher’s role is of great importance in ensuring the success of the socialization of the child and one of the biggest priorities is support for children whose parents are away from Lithuania. Purpose: to investigate the characteristics of social educational assistance to children whose parents are away from Lithuania. Objectives: 1. To overview the problem of emigration in Lithuania. 2. To analyze changes in family caused by emigration of family members. 3. To discuss the social and educational problems of children who experienced their parents’ emigration. 4. To investigate the features of aid of social teachers and educators‘ characteristics for children whose parents are away from Lithuania.