Third Culture Kids: A River of Transtion (otvx13 Presentation)

Being a Third Culture Kid:A River of Transition

Clarissa Sørlie@clissa89

Third Culture Kids (TCKs)

“children who move into another culture with parents due to a parent’s career choice”

- van Reken, 2011, pg. 34

Children of:Military personnel

Diplomats

International business people

Missionaries

Aid workers

International educators

Media representatives

Employees of other international organisations …

Environment

“Whether they are mobile TCKs who frequently relocateor stationary TCKs whose friends and social circles

keep changing, these children grow up among worlds, transitioning in and out of places,

cultures, and friendships…”

- Bell-Villada and Sichel (2011), pg. 4

Pollock and van Reken (2009)

Person

Pollock and van Reken (2009)

Occupation

Everyday challenges“learning to write in the Canadian script”

“ordering at restaurants”

“setting up appointments”

“drawing money out of those wonderful machines”

“I had no idea [it] was illegal!”

Withdrawal due to perceived incompetence (Pollock and van Reken, 2009)

Occupation as copingLeisure “may be the most important factor in…adjustment” (Linderman, 2011, pg. 215)

“At the age of 39, I had begun journaling as a way to understand my own story…” (van Reken, 2011, pg. 26)

Risky occupations “as a band-aid” (Linderman, 2011)

Influence on higher education and choice of career (Wu, 2011; Cottrell, 2002)

Navigating Transition

Leaving: Building a RAFTReconciliation

Affirmation

Farewells

Think Destination

Transition: Maintaining Stability

Sacred objects

Mourning

Entering: Finding Mentors

Pollock and van Reken (2009) http://www.reach-outdoors.com/admin/resources/photo-4.jpg

Working with TCKs

Identifying TCKs

Listen to the story and ask questions (Pollock and van Reken, 2009; Walters and Auton-Cuff, 2009)

Evaluate the ‘whole picture’ (Cockburn, 2002) – including organisational context (Pollock and van Reken, 2009)

Recognise paradoxical nature of experience (Pollock and van Reken, 2009)

Understand and acknowledge process of transition (Cockburn, 2002)

Assist healthy development (including social skills) and recognition of stressors (Cockburn, 2002)

Reflect on own identity and culture, and their influence on observations/recommendations (Cockburn, 2002)

Twitter: @clissa89

E-mail: [email protected]

Blog: http://shamelessotgeek.wordpress.com

References:http://shamelessotgeek.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/river-of-transition/