Children of Romanian Transnational Families Confronting „Difference”

Moving within the field of transnational families, in this paper we primarily focus on the way in which transnational families manage the inconveniences they confront through being „different” from the classical family: both on the family or micro level – which means being born or becoming the member of a transnational family; as well as on the extra-family or mezzo and macro level – how they are perceived by their social milieu, comprising anything from the community they live in to the nation-state.

„Difference” within TFs in the Romanian context can be perceived in multiple senses, but in our study we wish to approach it with a priority on the specific situations that children from TFs face: children gliding between two or more countries; children with double citizenship; children in transnationally mixed families – and the practices employed by families in these cases.

The paper will include the following aspects:

1. Children born and raised partly in Romania confront integration problems within the education systems abroad; in turn, if they come back home, they encounter adaptation difficulties within to the Romanian educational system too;

2. Many children are born outside the country and already have a double citizenship and hence are to be considered special family members for whom alternative life projects can be drawn.

3. The case of children born and raised in bi-national or ethnically mixed couples constituted through marriage with a „foreigner” (either in the target country or with an immigrant in Romania) raise new challenges in parenting style and educational choices.

The research will be based on the qualitative analysis of data obtained through (both live and online) audio and video interviews with transnational family members and key persons from 4 communities (in Romania and abroad).