Third Culture Kids: What Every International School T h N d t k ...

Third Culture Kids:
What Every International School
Teacher Needs to know
SAPPHIRA BEAUDIN
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

What is a Third Culture Kid (TCK)?
“A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has
spent a significant part of his or her developmental
years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK builds
relationships to all of the cultures, while not having
full ownership of any.”
- “Third Culture Kids” by Pollock and Van Reken

Discussion
• What are the types of TCKs in your school?
• What do they look like?
• What are the demographics / characteristics?

What are the different types of TCKs?
• Why do children move?
• Traditional TCKs
• Today’s TCKs

What are the different types of TCKs?
• Military brats, primarily from the United States, are the most
mobile of TCKs but generally spend only a few years abroad, and
sometimes none at all. Approximately 41% of military brats
spend less than 5 years in foreign countries. They are the least
likely TCKs to develop connections with the locals. Because
military bases aim for self-sufficiency, military brats tend to be
exposed the least to the local culture. Also, because of the self-
sufficiency of military bases and the distinctiveness of military
culture, even those military brats who never lived abroad can be
isolated to some degree from the civilian culture of their "home"
country.
• While parents of military brats had the lowest level of education
of the five categories, approximately 36% of USA military brat
TCK families have at least one parent with an advanced degree.
This is significantly higher than the general population.

What are the different types of TCKs?
• Nonmilitary government TCKs are the most likely l to
have extended experiences in foreign countries for
extended periods. 44% have lived in at least four
countries. 44% will also have spent at least 10 years
outside of their passport country. Their involvement
with locals and others from their passport country
depends on the role of the parent. Some may grow
up moving from country to country in the diplomatic
corps while others may live their lives near military
bases.

What are the different types of TCKs?
• Missionary i Kids (MKs) typically spend the most time
overseas in one country. 85% of MKs spend more
than 10 years in foreign countries and 72% lived in
only one foreign country. MKs generally have the
most interaction with the local populace and the
least interaction with people from their passport
country. They are the most likely to integrate
themselves into the local culture. 83% of missionary
kids have at least one parent with an advanced
degree.

What are the different types of TCKs?
• Business families also spend a great deal of time in
foreign countries. 63% of business TCK's have lived
in foreign countries at least 10 years but are more
likely than MKs to live in multiple countries.
Business TCKs will have a fairly high interaction with
their host nationals and with others from their
passport country.

What are the different types of TCKs?
• Mixed families (this is not yet included d in the TCK
research) Each parent is from a different country and
are either living in one parent’s country and
switching to the other parent’s country or both
parents are living in a different country to their own
completely.

What are the different types of TCKs?
• Local families (this is not yet included d in the TCK
research) Parents who send their children to
international schools. The children attend schools
that are in their passport / parent countries but
acquire a culture that is different to their passport /
parent country (i.e. Westernised, Internationalised)

Ways that TCK’s can relate to their surrounding culture

Cross Cultural Kids

Cross Cultural Kids (CCKs)
• Traditional TCKs –Children who move into another culture with parents due to a parent’s career
choice
• Bi/multi‐cultural/ and/or bi/multi‐racial children —Children born to parents from at least two
cultures or races
• Children of immigrants —Children whose parents have made a permanent move to a new
country where they were not originally citizens
• Children of refugees —Children whose parents are living outside their original country or place
due to unchosen circumstances such as war, violence, famine, other natural disasters
• Children of minorities —Children whose parents are from a racial or ethnic group which is not
part of the majority race or ethnicity of the country in which they live.
• International adoptees —Children adopted by parents from another country other than the one
of that child’s birth
• “Domestic” TCKs —Children whose parents have moved in or among various subcultures within
that child’s home country.
◦ Special note: Children are often in more than one of these circles at the same time. (e.g. A traditional TCK who is also from a
minority group; a child of immigrants whose parents are from two different cultures, etc.) This helps us understand the
growing complexity of the issues we face in our changing world .

TCK in our international schools
• International school “traditional” embassy kids, parents
here on contract, companies, one parent is Asian,
Boarding
Neglected TCKS:
• Local kids who go to international schools, westernised,
influence from teachers, school system, curriculum,
friends
• Characteristics: well off parents, parents who want best
education, university, who might have had western
education
• Flip side: “converted”, modern versus traditional parents

Discussion
Wh t f th b fit d i f b i
• What are some of the benefits and issues of being a
TCK?

Being a TCK..
Benefits
• Exposure to many cultures
and experiences
• Expanded worldview based on
personal experience
• Adaptable, flexible and able
to blend in
• Less prejudiced and more
tolerant
• Understand the importance of
now
• Good cross-cultural skills
• Good social skills
• Good linguistic skills
• More mature and self-confident
Issues
• Everything is temporary
• I hate it when people ask
where I’m from
• Huge phone bills
• Feeling guilty about having such
a “privileged” life
• Feeling vulnerable and
“alien” – not having shared
experiences
• Constantly dealing with
language and culture
barriers
• Ignorance of pop culture (music,
TV, slang, etc)
• Not knowing where you’ll be
in 2/3/5 years time

Being a TCK (continued)..
Benefits
Issues
• Good observers
• Not being able to pursue things
• Good mediators
when I move (like sport, musical
• Close family relationships instruments)
• Lack of identity – no sense
of belonging
• Not wanting to let go when I
have to move
• Getting close to others then
having to leave them
• Having friends all over the
world and none close-by
• Loneliness - feeling
constantly isolated

Being a TCK (continued)..
Benefits
Issues
• Not fitting into my (or any)
culture – being a perpetual
outsider
• Ongoing restlessness
• Losing everything when I
move
• No one else understands me
• Never knowing when you’ll
see your friends again
• Only having short-term
friendships, p, not life-long ones
• Feeling guilty or ungrateful
because I long for things that I
missed out on

Being a TCK (continued)..
Benefits
Issues
• Can’t build meaningful or lasting
relationships
• Constantly having to “start
again”
• Losing contact with friends
• Depression (research shows it’s
higher amongst TCK’s)
• Difficulty with repatriation
• Always missing
people/places
• Constant uncertainty
• Not having a “home”
• No sense of control over your life

Being a TCK (continued)..
Benefits
Issues
• Resentment towards parents for
making me move all the time
• Unresolved grief
• No continuity in schoolwork
Not all TCK’s will experience all of these issues!
The vast majority of TCK’s report that they would
not want to change their upbringing for a more
“normal” one.

Talking to your students
• Where are you from?
• New students (Cultural Adjustment PPP)
• Older students – universities
• Making friends, losing friends, missing friends,
keeping in contact
• Resenting host country, making comparisons, feeling
Resenting host country, making comparisons, feeling
negative

Leaving.. Moving again
During the leaving phase, help people to build a RAFT:
•Reconciliation – resolve any problems before you
leave
•Affirmation – affirm the people who have been
important to you
•Farewells – to people, p places, pets and
possessions
•Think Destination – be realistically prepared for
where you are going

Role Play: Student and Teacher
• Groups of 2 or 3

Video: Adults as TCKs
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FouOIB_AAfw
t / t h?

Labels – do they help?
• Are we making a big deal?!
• Understanding versus Under the Microscope
• What can we take away from all of this?

Case study -Priya
• Family: huge family, live together (cousins integrated), in your
business, very religious, grandfather and father are preachers,
successful family business, grandparents still have full control of
family matters (even if son is 50, still has to listen)
• Expectation of grandchildren, uphold the family name status,
marriage to respectable, same religion, well off family, never marry
below, arranged marriage best, every generation was arranged
• Priya graduated from an international, further studies in the US.
• Conflict on both sides: malls, westernisation, identity confusion,
where is home, traditions, parents do want best intention but can’t
deal with change, starting to regret
• Independent, be your own person (submissive) huge
impact from western culture, spoke her mind, developing
own things that made her happy

Questions?