Vol. 13 No. 3 November 2022 https://doi.org/10.18196/jgp.v13i3.15780 http://journal.umy.ac.id/index.php/jsp 334 AFFILIATION: 1,2,3,4Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang CORRESPONDENCE: tutiksulistyowati@umm.ac.id HOW TO CITATE: Sulistyowati, T., Wahyudi, Salahudin, & Sihidi, I. T. (2022). The Social Construction of Family Roles in Migrant Worker Income Management to Build Family Economy. Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan, 13(3) 334-355 ARTICLE HISTORY: Received: August 7, 2022 Revised: August 30, 2022 Accepted: October 27, 2022 The Social Construction of FaMily Roles in Migrant Worker IncoMe ManageMent to Build FaMily EconoMy TUTIK SULISTYOWATI*1 , WAHYUDI2, SALAHUDIN3, IRADHAD TAQWA SIHIDI4 ABSTRACT: This paper aims to explain the social construction of family roles in migrant workers’ income management. Many migrant worker families are unable to manage their income correctly. This social construction would affect the com- munity by giving negative stigma to the families of migrant workers. This re- search was conducted using a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. The subjects were selected based on proportional sampling, namely people who live close to the families of migrant workers, extended families of migrant workers, and community leaders. The results of this study indicate that, in reality, some couples of migrant worker families can manage their income well, resulting in the income of migrant workers that does not have a mean- ingful impact on the family. The findings of this study contribute to developing a theory of social construction, where reality is the result of personal under- standing, which is used as a shared understanding in the community. This shared understanding gives a new stigma to the reality of migrant worker families. The research limitation is that the data used are only obtained from subject interview data and case observations in the field, so the research findings limitedly describe the study of social construction in general. Future research that can be conducted based on this finding is investigating the ef- fect of poor income management on the increasing migrant workers’ family disharmony. Keywords: social construction, family role, migrant family ABSTRAK Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan konstruksi sosial peran keluarga dalam pengelolaan pendapatan pekerja migran. Kenyataannya, banyak keluarga TKI yang tidak mampu mengelola pendapatannya dengan baik. Konstruksi sosial ini akan mempengaruhi masyarakat dengan memberikan stigma negatif kepada keluarga pekerja migran. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode deskriptif dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Subyek dipilih berdasarkan purposive sampling, yaitu orang-orang yang tinggal dekat dengan keluarga TKI, keluarga besar TKI, dan tokoh masyarakat. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa pada kenyataannya beberapa pasangan keluarga TKI tidak dapat mengelola pendapatannya dengan baik, sehingga pendapatan TKI tidak berdampak berarti bagi keluarga. Temuan penelitian ini berkontribusi pada pengembangan teori konstruksi sosial, di mana realitas merupakan hasil pemahaman individu, yang digunakan sebagai http://journal.umy.ac.id/index.php/jsp mailto:tutiksulistyowati@umm.ac.id https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1814-7564 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0371-1030 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5687-0812 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1845-636X JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN pemahaman bersama di masyarakat. Pemahaman bersama ini memberikan stigma baru terhadap realitas keluarga pekerja migran. Keterbatasan penelitian ini adalah data yang digunakan hanya diperoleh dari data wawancara subjek dan observasi kasus di lapangan, sehingga temuan penelitian terbatas menggambarkan kajian konstruksi sosial secara umum. Penelitian selanjutnya yang dapat dilakukan berdasarkan temuan ini adalah menyelidiki pengaruh manajemen pendapatan yang buruk terhadap meningkatnya disharmoni keluarga pekerja migran. Kata Kunci: konstruksi sosial, peran keluarga, keluarga migran INTRODUCTION Indonesia is a country that supplies a large number of mi- grant workers to other countries. Based on the data from the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indone- sian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) in 2018, as of January 2019, 283,640 migrant workers worked as Indonesian migrant work- ers overseas. Approximately 47% are placed in the formal and 53% in the informal sectors. Meanwhile, based on marital sta- tus, 41% are married, 35% are not married, and 24% are di- vorced. Based on gender, male migrant workers are 30%, while female migrant workers are 70% (BNP2TKI, 2020). From the data on the number of Indonesian migrant workers, it can be interpreted that most of them are parents with married or di- vorced status. Many female Indonesian migrant workers who are married or no longer single indicate that they are mostly house- wives. The low employment opportunities in the village and the narrowing agricultural land ownership have caused many villag- ers to leave their hometowns for the city and even their country (Herawati, 2010; Irawaty et al., 2011; Sulaiman et al., 2017; Sulistyowati, 2019). The expectations are to get jobs quickly with high salaries. The Research Center for Development and Infor- mation of BNP2TKI (2020) noted that, for three consecutive years, from 2016 to 2018, the placement of Indonesian migrant workers increased every year. From 234,451 in 2016, 262,899 in 2017, to 283,640 in 2018. The policy of Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) abroad is one of the government’s efforts to reduce unemployment and poverty rates in Indonesia (Primawati, 2011; Madrah et al., 2020; 335 Vol. 13 No. 3 November 2022 336 Wijaya et al., 2020; Kadir, 2019; Lasim et al., 2021). The consid- eration of becoming migrant workers is taken due to inadequate employment opportunities in the country of origin, family’s eco- nomic pressure, and dreams of having valuables such as motor- bikes, cars, rice fields, and good houses, among others. Thus, becoming a migrant worker would make the need for these valu- ables easier to obtain (Isnawati, 2019). This description of conve- nience is due to the way of thinking constructed by former Mi- grant Workers who have returned to their hometowns with rela- tive success in the financial sector, encouraging other individu- als to make the same choices of becoming migrant workers. The low household income is not in line with the increas- ingly high demands of life, requiring individuals to choose to become migrant workers overseas in the hope of being able to have a better life (Brown & Bean, 2005; Lim & Morshed, 2015; Lim & Basnet, 2017). Individual migration, either one or several family members, will impact the household they leave behind economically, socially, and the community in which they previ- ously lived. Likewise, the migration of individual parents (either by the father, the mother, or both father and mother simulta- neously) can directly affect the family, especially the abandoned children (Sumantri, 2013). The problems related to migrant workers do not affect many people’s desire to become migrant workers. However, the prob- lems that migrant workers always go through from various send- ing countries impact the families that are left behind. Direct impacts can arise due to the loss and separation of family mem- bers who work as migrant workers, such as anxiety in family members who are left behind because they hear news about prob- lems with Indonesian workers abroad. Apart from the psycho- logical impact, the economic impact will also be very influential, such as managing income (remittances) by migrant workers’ fami- lies. Remittances received by households of origin can have posi- tive and negative impacts (Sumantri, 2013). It has a positive im- pact when the remittance management is carried out following JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN the household’s basic needs. In contrast, the negative impact can occur if the remittances are not appropriately used, like for sprees, fun, gambling, and others. Another problem in families of migrant workers is that when one family member chooses to become a migrant worker, one of the functions in the family will change. Automatically, one of the family members will play a dual role in carrying out their duties; for instance, when a wife becomes a migrant worker, the father must perform dual roles as the head of the family while at the same time replacing the roles of the mother in the family (Sulistyowati, 2017). Parents’ departure to become migrant workers affects the children’s daily lives and the relationship with substitute parents at home and neighbours (Lutfiyah et al., 2020). This phenom- enon often becomes a problem, especially when mothers leave home to become migrant workers. Problems that often arise in the family when the mother leaves the family for a relatively long time are the children are not well taken care of, the house is less maintained, the husband feels lonely, and so on. Consequently, husbands tend to find new friends and leave their children with caregivers. An indirect problem that can arise is the phenom- enon of divorce among female migrant workers, which ultimately impacts the children (Bungin, 2008). The community’s social construction towards the family of migrant workers due to a shift in family functions would affect the mindset of family members. In the view of social definition, the reality is the result of creative human creation through the power of social construction of the social world around it. Bungin (2008) stated that the social world is the reality outside the indi- viduals’ social world. According to our impression, the reality ‘exists’ within oneself and the law that governs. The impact of being in a migrant worker’s family does occur not only psychologically but also socially, such as divorce and child delinquency among migrant workers. Furthermore, the impact on the family economy, most successful legal migrant 337 Vol. 13 No. 3 November 2022 338 workers experience an improvement in the family’s economic status. Berger (Poloma, 2013) claimed that individuals do not just step into roles that previously existed in the family. How- ever, social norms are generally accepted and guide their behaviour, and the shared reality is much of their creation. Social reality is a social construction created by individuals who are free human beings. The individual becomes the deter- minant in the social world constructed based on his will. Hu- mans, in many ways, have the freedom to act outside the control limits of their social structures and institutions in which indi- viduals go through responses to stimuli in their cognitive world. In the social process, the human individual is seen as the creator of social reality who is relatively free in his social life (Anwar et al., 2013). Practically, this research is a basic form of help to provide information to the community about how the community con- structs the role of the family in managing the income of migrant workers in building the family economy. The family of a migrant worker is the party responsible for managing the income or re- mittance of a migrant worker while he is still overseas. As in- come managers, families must manage the income properly and be responsible for realizing hopes and dreams in building family life. Nevertheless, in reality, what happens is sometimes the op- posite; families use the income of migrant workers irresponsibly so that the hope of building a family economy is not achieved. This study intends to see how the community constructs migrant worker families as income managers in building the family economy. The concept of social construction is a statement of belief (a claim) and a point of view that the content of awareness and ways of relating to other people are taught by culture and society (Ngangi, 2011). Meanwhile, Indonesian migrant workers are ev- ery Indonesian citizen who will, is currently, or has done work by receiving salaries outside the territory of the Republic of In- donesia (Sulistyowati, 2017). JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN This study on the social construction of the role of the family in managing the migrant workers’ income to build the family economy is research from the perspective of family sociology, which is related to the relationships and strengthening the func- tion of the nuclear family in supporting the existence of the nuclear family. The primary concern is the community’s under- standing of the roles and responsibilities of migrant worker fami- lies in managing income to build the family economy in the com- munity. So, it is expected that the results of the current study could give recommendations to people, mainly migrant workers, and the government as policymakers to protect the migrant work- ers and their families. Particularly in building community un- derstanding of how the role and responsibility of the family in managing the income of migrant workers to build the family economy in the community. LITERATURE REVIEW A study on social construction was conducted by (Sulistyowati, 2019) about the Model of Adaptation of Female Migrant Work- ers in Constructing Social Identity in Destination Countries. The study shows that the construction of individual self-identity can- not be separated from the understanding that underlies the so- cial interactions, attitudes, and actions performed by female mi- grant workers in their social lives. It differs from the research by (Lutfiyah et al., 2020) about The Dilemma of Women Migrant Workers in Fulfilling Rights and Responsibilities to the family. Women are constructed as family members who have to sacri- fice for the family—working as migrant workers are considered an obligation and a solution to pay debt and overcome poverty in the family (Sumantri, 2013). Similar research by (Purwanto, 2018) regarding the social con- struction of migrant workers’ husbands on children’s education shows that husbands understand children’s education as a shared responsibility. However, it is more important for the wives to handle it because of different abilities in educating children be- 339 Vol. 13 No. 3 November 2022 340 tween them, in which wives tend to have more emotional close- ness, painstaking, and patience in educating children. It is in contrast with husbands who tend to be more impatient. Second, the process of educating children by the husband in the family when the wife is a migrant worker abroad includes teaching chil- dren to read, write, and draw while also instilling the values of politeness, discipline, and religious values, as well as enrolling children in courses, and religious schools. Third, the husband’s adjustment process in the family significantly determines the process of educating children. In contrast, the wife works as a migrant worker abroad, such as the family’s economic background (upper middle and lower middle class), the husband’s role in the education of children in the family, husbands who work or not, and differences in the level of children’s education in the family of migrant workers. . SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION CONCEPT In many aspects, humans have the freedom to act outside the control limits of the structure and social institutions where the individual originated. Humans actively and creatively develop themselves through responses to stimuli in their cognitive world. Further, the reality is a social construction created by individu- als. Individuals are not human victims of social facts but produc- tion and reproduction machines that are creative in construct- ing their social world (Dunford & Perrigino, 2018; Griffith, 2018; Jacobs, 2012; Meyer, 2019; Sosa et al., 2019). Social reality does not stand alone without the presence of individuals, both inside and outside of that reality, and social reality has meanings. When social reality is constructed and interpreted subjectively by other individuals, it stabilizes the reality objectively (Barry, 2016; Blazsin & Guldenmund, 2015; Bosco et al., 2019; Diaz-Leon, 2015; Dunford & Perrigino, 2018; Griffith, 2018; Jacobs, 2012; Krippendorff, 2016; Lusiani & Langley, 2019; Meyer, 2019; Sosa et al., 2019; Swim et al., 2018). Individuals construct social real- ity in the world of reality, viewing it based on other individuals’ JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN subjectivity in their social institutions (Diaz-Leon, 2015; McWilliams, 2022; Bungin, 2008). The process of social construction on developing community understanding regarding the importance of the family role in managing the migrant worker’s income. So far, what happens is that families tend to use the income (consumptive), not manage it. In social construction, individuals (husband/wife of migrant workers) build themselves in understanding as managers, not as income users. So the reality of the individual acting as a man- ager is a social construction. The everyday social reality is a social construction made by the community. INDONESIAN MIGRANT WORKERS AS A SOCIAL PHE- NOMENON Indonesian migrant workers as a social phenomenon are al- ways interesting to be investigated individually, in groups, or in institutions, legally, socially, psychologically, and economically. In general, the decision to migrate is always driven by someone’s desire to improve some or one aspect of their lives. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Indonesian migrant workers was still high. Data from the ILO web shows that the number of Indonesian migrant workers reaches 164 million, half of whom are women. While the impact of the covid pandemic period tends to decrease, demand from several coun- tries in all aspects of work has decreased. However, seasonal health and agricultural demand tend to increase (International Labour Organization, 2020). Indonesian Migrant Workers provide benefits for both the sending country, the receiving country and the migrant workers’ families. Countries of origin that send migrant workers will re- ceive remittances by sending migrant workers abroad. On the other hand, countries receiving migrant workers benefit economi- cally from the fulfillment of the number of workers they need for the economic growth of the receiving country. In addition, for individuals themselves, being a migrant worker is considered 341 Vol. 13 No. 3 November 2022 342 to be able to increase their level of social status in society, achieve economic independence, and increase self-confidence (Asriani & Amalia, 2016). THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION THEORY (PETER L. BERGER) The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociological of Knowledge (Peter L. Berger and Thomas Lukman, 1966) describes social processes through actions and interactions, in which indi- viduals continuously create a shared reality that is shared and experienced subjectively (Bungin, 2008). Assumptions of Berger and Lukman’s social construction theory are: 1. Reality is the result of creative human creation through the power of social construction on the social world around them; 2. The relationship between human thought and the social con- text in which it arises is developed and institutionalized; 3. Community life is continuously constructed; 4. Distinguish between reality and knowledge. Reality is defined as the quality contained in reality that is recognized as having an existence (being) that is not dependent on our own will. Meanwhile, knowledge is the certainty that the realities are actual and have specific characteristics. Berger and Lukman substantively believe that reality results from creative human creation through the power of social con- struction on the social world around them, “reality is socially con- structed.” The social construction of the financial management reality of the migrant worker’s family is a social reality. This social real- ity is formed from an understanding of subjective reality that blends with objective reality on the contribution of families to the financial management of migrant workers. The community has always understood that the family carries out the financial management of migrant workers, but sometimes migrant work- ers do not trust the family. In this context, society understands a JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN subjective reality that eventually becomes an objective reality to- wards the contribution of families in the financial management of migrant workers in building the family economy. RESEARCH METHOD This research uses a descriptive design. This type of descrip- tive research has the characteristics of describing and explaining the observed phenomena. This study aims to describe and ex- plain how society constructs the identity of migrant workers’ fami- lies based on social reality. The research uses a qualitative research approach. This re- search approach analyzes qualitative data from research subjects as necessary statements. Therefore, it applies descriptive qualita- tive data analysis to describe and explain public statements relat- ing to the social construction of families of Indonesian migrant workers. The research was conducted in the community of Tapakrejo Village, Kesamben District, Blitar Regency. Tapakrejo Village is one of the highest sending areas of migrant workers in Blitar, and most migrant workers are female migrant workers. Until 2020, the number of migrant workers from Tapakrejo Village temporarily registered at the village office is 67, consisting of 15 men and 52 women (Sulistyowati, 2020). The subjects in this study were determined by purposive sampling, with the criteria being a partner of a migrant worker, living closely, and one of the family members. RESULT AND DISCUSSION Most Kesamben District people work as farmers in rice fields, dryland agriculture, and animal husbandry. Almost all villages in the Kesamben District have residents who become migrant workers abroad, both men and women. The destination coun- tries where they work are Hong Kong, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Korea. They leave their families, children, and hus- band or wife for a long time. 343 Vol. 13 No. 3 November 2022 344 One of the villages in Kesamben District, which has many migrant workers, is Tapakrejo Village. According to information from the head of the village, almost all families of Tapakrejo had been migrant workers. Of all the migrant workers, the majority are women. Even a villager has been a migrant worker in Hong Kong for 22 years and has not returned until today. Tapakrejo Village is one of the Kesamben District villages with a topography of slopes and hills, so it cannot be used as an arena for rice fields. The location of Tapakrejo Village is to the north of the centre of Kesamben District, with a distance of 10 km from the district city centre. There is no vehicle/public transpor- tation to enter this village, only motorcycle taxis from the dis- trict capital. Residents of Tapakrejo Village use motorcycle taxis and motorbikes if they want to travel outside the village. Tapakrejo Village has geographical characteristics of hills and dry land. Due to the village’s location being on a hillside, most people work as farmers and farm labourers/fields. The plants grown are woody, such as sengon, sono, and coconut, and only a few residents grow corn or cassava. Concerning the types of crops grown are hard crops, men are primarily involved in agriculture, while women do not have access to work in agriculture. Agriculture is the main work of the villagers, so when only male residents are involved in agriculture, female residents will look for other alternative jobs, such as trading or working out- side the area. The phenomenon in the Tapakrejo Village com- munity is that women feel excluded from the agricultural sector, so they have to look for other productive jobs. Alternatively, their choices are to become assistants in the city or migrant workers, or female workers (TKW) abroad. Moreover, many residents of neighbouring villages who became migrant workers and returned home with much money (success) inspire them to do the same. MIGRANT WORKERS IN TAPAKREJO VILLAGE BLITAR According to village head Tapakrejo, the more significant number of female migrant workers than male migrant workers JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN in this village is because the male residents of Tapakrejo village work in moors and the women sell and use the products. How- ever, the results obtained were not much, so the women ven- tured to work abroad. The research informants also confirmed the information submitted by the head of the village. As stated by the subject Tumi (neighbour) to the researcher as follows: “. family income is not enough to fulfil our daily needs, (Lutfiyah et al., 2020), whereas the children need money. If we do not work, we do not have money. There are many people (women) here who go abroad. Some are in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia. There are also many in Hong Kong and Malaysia”. (Erwin, 2020) Based on the data of Indonesian Migrant Workers (TKI) from the Tapakrejo Village office in 2014, besides the number of mi- grant workers, the majority are women (52 out of 57 migrant workers) with mostly elementary school and junior high school graduates, only a few who graduated from high school. Addi- tionally, the 52 female migrant workers from Tapakrejo Village are primarily housewives, and only two are unmarried. On aver- age, they registered at the Private Indonesian Manpower Com- pany (PTKIS) in Malang and Surabaya. The average migrant workers from Tapakrejo Village are between 25 and 45 years old, and their length of work abroad is between 2 and 6 years. An explanation given by Mr Erwin, the Head of Tapakrejo Village, to the researchers, revealed that: “. the desire of many villagers, especially women, to become TKW is caused by many things, including many people who returned from abroad and succeeded in building houses, buying vehicles, buying land. Usually, are those who are married, aged between 20-30 years, unemployed, and are open to going abroad.” (Erwin, 2020) CHANGES IN TAPAKREJO VILLAGE AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF MIGRANT WORKERS Physically, the changes in society due to the presence of mi- grant workers in Tapakrejo Village that many people’s houses 345 Vol. 13 No. 3 November 2022 346 appear to have different building look compared to houses of villagers in general. Usually, houses that look big and have tiled floors and high fences are houses owned by migrant workers. In contrast, ordinary villagers’ houses are simple buildings with ce- ment floors and without fences. Non-physically, villagers who migrate to become migrant workers abroad have inspired other villagers, especially the youths. Therefore, the village government made various efforts to influence village residents, especially youth, to work in their area. As stated by Mr Erwin, the Head of Tapakrejo Village, to the researchers as follows: “… I am thinking how to invite the youth here to do something pro- ductive, for example, by opening training in fisheries, animal hus- bandry, and other skills so that they do not work abroad as migrant workers.” (Erwin, 2020) Based on the head of the village’s explanation, it indicates that the community’s mindset has been constructed to become migrant workers better than working as farmers. Therefore, the village government seeks to create job opportunities for its youth so they would not become migrant workers abroad; thus, the development in the community is increasingly visible. PROTECTION POLICY ON MIGRANT WORKERS IN BLITAR REGENCY Nationally, the Indonesian migrant worker policy is contained in Law no. 18 of 2017 concerning the protection of Indonesian migrant workers. The protection policy includes protection be- fore work, at work and after work. Meanwhile, the government’s policy on the protection of migrant workers and their families is contained in the policy of the productive (desmigratif) migrant village program. This program aims to empower, improve ser- vices, and provide protection for migrant workers and their fami- lies. In this program there are four pillars, namely the village as an information service, the village as a productive business cre- ation, the village as community parenting and the village as a productive business engagement. In the pillar of productive busi- JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN ness creation, PMI families are expected to be able to manage their income to create productive businesses (Nuraeni, 2021). As the second-largest sending area for migrant workers in East Java, the Blitar Regency Government, through the Manpower and Transmigration Service (Disnakertrans), has made a set of policies related to overseas job seekers. These policies include: a. Policies regarding the Placement of Job Seekers Abroad: The types of services for the placement of Inter-Country In- donesian Migrant Workers are as follows: Registration of Prospective TKI (CTKI)/Yellow Card 1. Providing an Introduction Letter to CTKI for the Head of Village/ Lurah/ Muspika to assist with the required let- ters/documents as a condition for working overseas 2. Checking the completeness of the required documents for CTKI 3. Providing recommendations for CTKI to the emigration office in Srengat to process passports 4. Ratifying the placement agreement between CTKI and the Implementing Private Indonesian Workforce Placement (PPTKIS) specifically for CTKI to Taiwan 5. Settlement of cases of TKI, those who are still working abroad and who have returned to Indonesia. Such as cases of TKI being returned to Indonesia before the end of their contract for unclear reasons, illness, bankruptcy, and oth- ers 6. Cases of TKI who are not paid per the agreement on the work contract 7. Cases of old migrant workers in shelters and others 8. Cases of TKI who died or were deceived by brokers b. Policies concerning Services in the Field of Implementation Supervision, Blitar Regency Regulation No. 8 of 2001 concerning Retribution for Occupational Safety and Health (K3): 1. Carrying out inspection/ testing of equipment in the com- pany and working environment conditions to comply with 347 Vol. 13 No. 3 November 2022 348 existing standards in the provisions of work safety laws and regulations. 2. Issuing permits /recommendations for the use of specific work equipment and recommendations/ permits related to CTKI for inspection/ testing of: a) The tools/ machines meet predetermined standards b) The risk of work accidents can be reduced to a mini- mum c) Controlling Indonesian Migrant Workers abroad and adding skills (Blitarkab.go.id, 2020) The policy on migrant workers in Blitar Regency is slowly but surely being socialized to all sub-districts and villages throughout Blitar Regency, including in Tapakrejo Village, Kesamben Dis- trict. The goal is for migrant workers (especially prospective mi- grant workers) to prepare themselves well and become migrant workers without problems. RESEARCH SUBJECT This study used a qualitative approach, and the data were analyzed using descriptive analysis. The subjects of this study were determined by purposive sampling with the criteria, Migrant worker spouses, neighbors, and extended family members. From the findings, six research subjects were recruited. The following is the subject’s identity based on the criteria: Table 1. Research Subject Identity Data No. Name Age Education Description 1. Syamsudin 65 Bachelor Degree (S1) Worker’s spouse 2. Widodo 40 Bachelor Degree(S1) Worker’s spouse 3. Tumi 40 Elementary School (SD) Neighbor 4. Erwin 45 Senior High School (SMA) Neighbor 5. Edi 37 Senior High School (SMA) Worker’s relative 6. Surini 45 Junior High School (SMP) Worker’s relative Source: Author, 2021 JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN COMMUNITY RESPONSES TO MIGRANT WORKER REAL- ITY The people of Tapakrejo Village, in general, are dryland farm- ers; thus, to get a better income, they should work outside the area, whether working in the city as construction workers for men or as household assistants for women. Since one person dared to work abroad and earn more income outside the region, they also scrambled to work abroad, especially women. This phe- nomenon has existed since the early 1990s until now. There are tens or even hundreds of Tapakrejo Village residents who have worked abroad, especially in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Brunei Darussalam. Regarding how the subjects responded to seeing young people in the village with young people who were already migrant work- ers abroad, they told the researcher that: “It is okay to work anywhere, as long as you are serious. Moreover, working abroad must have skills so that the income is large so that it can provide for the family economy” (Edi, 23 August 2020) The community and local community leaders realized that the village and all the environmental conditions of the commu- nity could not provide the work needs and much income for the villagers, so they gave up and permitted the community mem- bers to work abroad. Until now, the tendency of people to work abroad in this village is still high. This tendency was conveyed by a subject to researchers as follows: “The desire of the villagers here to work abroad is still high; on aver- age, every day, there are always people looking for letters to meet the requirements for overseas, both men and women. Their destinations are usually Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Brunei Darussalam (Widodo, 2 September 2020). Essentially, the tendency of community members to work abroad is not the only solution to earn income for the difficulty of finding jobs in the village. However, because there is a strong push from other residents who have succeeded, other residents are eager to follow in their footsteps. 349 Vol. 13 No. 3 November 2022 350 The following is the result of an interview from one of the commu- nity members regarding how the people in this village manage their income while migrant workers are away for work: “Very few hus- bands can manage income when their wives become migrant workers. Most of the money sent to the family is used for their interests. Their children are not taken care of and handed over to grandparents” (Surini, 23 August 2020). The statement of the subject shows that the majority of hus- bands are not able to manage income. This reality makes people have a negative view of the family in managing the income of migrant workers. As a result, the income that should be used to build the family economy and organize the household is wasted. THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF FAMILIES IN INCOME MANAGEMENT The social construction of the family in managing the income of migrant workers is seen from the aspects of management knowl- edge, management ability, and attitudes and actions in manage- ment. The results of an interview about family knowledge in managing income show that the family does not have the au- thority to manage it because when the family receives remittances, there are already details of its use. As stated by one of the com- munity leaders to the following researchers: “Usually, when people receive remittances from their fami- lies who work abroad, they have detailed usage. For example, this amount is to buy this, for the children’s expenses, to pay debts, and other usages. So, the family only carries out or- ders.” (Erwin, 3 September 2020) According to the interview above, the subject is not involved in managing income, so from knowledge, attitude, and behav- ior, management is not involved. Aspects of community igno- rance in managing spouse income have implications for manag- ing the income. There is a reality that some families cannot man- age the income of migrant workers. JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN The ability of migrant family partners to manage income and take care of children until they graduate from school is some- thing that migrant workers and the community expect in build- ing the family economy. Besides, the family can achieve prosper- ity and economic security even though one of the spouses still migrates abroad. Ultimately, this reality can construct society towards the family as the migrant workers’ income manager in building the family economy. In doing so, cooperation between families as managers and migrant workers as income seekers are essential. THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION THEORY IN VIEWING MIGRANT WORKER INCOME FAMILY MAN- AGEMENT Social construction is an understanding that reality results from the production of humans themselves, who are socially constructed; therefore, reality and knowledge are two correspond- ing keys to having that understanding (Syafitri, 2017). The dia- lectical process in social construction theory occurs due to the tug-of-war between how objective reality is interpreted by the at- titudes of individuals with various values held to show their iden- tity in social institutions in which they are part of it (Karman, 2015). Peter L. Berger divides the dialectical process into three parts: externalization, objectivation, and internalization (Poloma, 2013). First, the externalization process is an individual’s expression in real life. The preparation of one’s understanding is built based on developing issues, existing realities, and the policies of those in power. Second, the objectivation process occurs when indi- viduals transmit and share the results of understanding obtained with others. (Diniati, 2018) calls the objectivation process a phase of rejection by comparing the initial knowledge possessed with the reality in society which then transmits that understanding to others. The third is the internalization process in which an indi- vidual identifies as a social institution member. 351 Vol. 13 No. 3 November 2022 352 The internalization process can occur if the individual suc- cessfully passes the rejection and acceptance phases. In the real- ity of social construction, the family manages the income of mi- grant workers to build the family economy. There are aspects of externalization, objectivation, and internalization so that social construction is formed. In the process of externalization, as an individual expression from real life and constructing one’s un- derstanding based on developing issues. The study results show that some families could not take care of the household and manage the income of migrant workers, making people not trust the extended family of migrant workers; hence there is a rejec- tion of the migrant workers’ existence. Furthermore, the objectivation process occurs as a phase of rejection by comparing the initial knowledge that the migrant worker’s family can manage income with the fact that the family cannot manage income, making people not believe in it. How- ever, since it truly exists, it can influence others to believe. The last is the internalization process resulting from not believing that several families are unable to manage income, so they are unable to show the economic structure of the migrant worker family, even though the community can accept this reality. CONCLUSION Based on research, it can be concluded that in the externali- zation process, there is an initial understanding of the commu- nity about family involvement in income management that can be carried out correctly. However, the reality of the research shows that several families cannot manage their income. It is a reality that exists in migrant worker families. Thus, aspects of objectiva- tion are shown in community members who know the truth that not all families can manage income and then convey this to other community members as new information. In this dialectic pro- cess, there is a debate between believing and not believing in community members. Moreover, in internalization, community members finally JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN accepted and agreed that the social reality was that not all fami- lies could manage income in building the family economy. The research limitation is that the data used are only obtained from subject interview data and case observations in the field, so the research findings limitedly describe the study of social construc- tion in general. Future research that can be conducted based on this finding is investigating the effect of poor income manage- ment on the increasing migrant workers’ family disharmony. RECOMMENDATION This research uses an analytical approach to social construc- tion theory developed by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Lukman. Therefore, the recommendation of this research is addressed to future researchers who plan to explore and examine the realities of the family life of migrant workers. 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Konstruksi Sosial Anak Jalanan Terhadap Rumah Singgah (Studi Konstruksi Sosial di UPTDV Kampung Anak Negeri, Surabaya). Thesis: Universitas Airlangga. https://repository.unair.ac.id/68234/ Wijaya, H. B., Rudianto, I., & Kurniawati, H. (2020). Migrant Entrepreneurs in Industry Cluster Formation and Innovation: The Case of Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. In The Urban Book Series. Springer International Publishing. https://link.springer.com/ chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-50363-5_7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors would like to express their gratitude to the lead- ers of the Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang who have sup- ported the authors in carrying out the research until it is finally published. 355 https://doi.org/10.47198/naker.v16i1.90 https://www.blitarkab.go.id/