Third culture kids are children raised in globally mobile families who have left their culture of origin to reside in a host culture. As this relocation occurs during childhood, the child combines the values, traditions, and norms of both cultures thereby creating a third culture, a unique culture created by the parent’s integration of the home culture, the host culture, and the domains of the organizational culture. Emotional Stability was found to mediate the relationship between family of origin Expression and Composite distress. Though this was the only hypothesized model that was supported, other interesting findings include that when participants were categorized by industry, statistically significant differences were found between Military, Missions, and the Other group on all of the scales. These differences are likely due to a cohort effect, given that the military family mean age was as much as twenty years higher than the other groups.

Denna systematiska litteraturstudie behandlar ämnet modersmål eller som det också kallas heritage language. Syftet är att med hjälp av diverse vetenskapliga artiklar komma fram till vilken roll språket spelar i en individs utveckling. Detta anses vara viktigt då man i lärarutbildningen ofta lyfter fram den enskilda individen i ett klassrum och det är då viktigt att skapa en förståelse för de ungdomar i dagens Sverige som har ett annat heritage langauge än just svenskan. Artiklarna visar att de ungdomar som fått lära sig sitt heritage language känner en koppling till sin kultur medan de som inte har fått möjlighet till det känner att de saknar något. Genom sådana resultat har man därför kunnat komma fram till att inte bara finns det en stark koppling mellan ens språk, kultur och identitet men att den också är mycket viktig.

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The number of Americans living abroad currently is estimated at over four million, with over 37,000 matriculating into U.S. universities each year. If the social media giant Facebook were a country, it would be third largest in the world, with over 300 million users outside of America. The trajectory of our society is increasingly global. Amidst this shift, there is a unique multicultural subpopulation emerging-- Third Culture Kids (TCK), who experience a collision of cultures and form hybrid identities in the course of their development. TCKs are more specifically when a person spends a significant part of their developmental years outside their parents’ culture. The TCK takes on pieces of each culture, while never fully ‘belonging’ to any. They are most at home around others of a similar transient background. This report synthesizes research about globally mobile populations from across disciples, highlighting grief and ambiguous losses, acculturation stresses, and identity development. Potential implications for the college campus— at institutional and individual levels— will be discussed. This overview of current research and resources equips college counselors with a frame of reference for engaging this third culture in a holistic and contextualized manner. / text

Fler och fler barn flyttar utomlands på grund av föräldrars arbete. Många av de flyttar med sina föräldrar i tidigt ålder och förflyttningen sker under hela barn- och ungdosåren.. Av den anledningen ligger intresset i att undersöka detta fenomen. Syftet me denna studie var att undersöka svenska elever som av olika anledningar studerar på svenska skolan utomlands och framförallt undersöka de bakomliggande faktorer vid val av skola och erfarenheter på den svenska skolan bortom Sveriges gränser. Under denna undersökning befann jag mig på plats vid en skandinavisk skola i Europa. Den metod som användes under studien var halvstrukturerad intervjuguide med den fenomenografiska ansatsen. Sammanlagt intervjuades fem elever med olika skolbakgrunder. Utgångspunkten för resultat och analys har utgått från att dela in materialet i olika kategorier för att beskriva fenomenet som ter sig på olika sätt för varje individ. Dessa beskrivnings kategoriner innehåller underordnade kategorier som presenteras under kapitlett resultat och analys. De skilda överordnade beskrivningskategorierna är elevers upplevda motiv till att läsa vid skandinavisk skolan, elevers erfarenheter vid att läsa vid en skandinavisk skola, elevers erfarenheter samt attityder till livet som utlandssvenk och integration. Diskussionen innehåller material från empirin som framställs med tidigare forskning.

The study examined relations between a cross-cultural geographically mobile childhood and adult cultural identity, attachment to cross-cultural identities (CCIs) and self-esteem. CCIs are loosely defined identities (e.g., third culture kids [TCKs], military brats, missionary kids) that describe some individuals' childhood cross-cultural experience. The 475 participants spent at least two years before age 18 in a culture different from their parents' and completed an online survey including childhood cross-cultural experiences, Cultural Homelessness Criteria, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and Self Label Identity Measure (SLIM) that captured strength of affirmation, belonging and commitment to any CCI. Cultural homelessness (CH) was related to lower self-esteem; higher SLIM scores was related to higher self-esteem and lower CH. TCKs reported lower self-esteem than non-TCKs and older participants experienced less CH and higher self-esteem. SLIM scores buffered the CH-self-esteem relationship, whereas a TCK CCI and having more cross-culturally experienced social networks did not.

This qualitative phenomenological study was conducted in order to better understand the multiple multicultural educational experiences TCKs have as a result of their unwanted/unpredictable international moves. The transcendental approach included semistructured face-to-face interviews based on a questionnaire with 12 TCK students at an international school in Korea. Students were asked to share their emotional, academic, and social experiences. The three research questions underpinning the questionnaire were: What are the emotional experiences of TCK high school students at a Korean international school who had multiple school disruptions? What are the academic experiences of TCK high school students at a Korean international school who had multiple school disruptions? What are the social experiences of TCK high school students at a Korean international school who had multiple school disruptions? The participants had attended at least three different schools K-12 and had attended schools in at least two different countries. Results revealed that although TCKs are fearful of moving to a new school in a new country they are excited about the new experiences they will have as they transition to a new place and new school. Academically, the International Baccalaureate Programme is the curriculum TCKs prefer and find the most suitable to their international experiences. The most unique experiences TCKs face moving from one school to another in a different country revolve around relationships. The most difficult part about moving is leaving friends and family behind. While TCKs moving to a new school in a new country face complex challenges forming close relationships, they are open-minded and are able to relate to people from a variety of different backgrounds and nationalities.

This thesis aims to understand and explore how the experience of adult Third Culture Kids (TCKs) – individuals who live abroad outside of their parents' passport country in their developmental years – impacted the development of their cultural identity. Child migrants on a global level are increasing in the modern context, and not enough literature has focused on exploring the impact a highly mobile and transient upbringing has on children. Therefore, this study presents a social science insight into how the impact of growing as a TCK impacts one's cultural identity construction, sense of belonging, and relation to place. Six interviews were conducted with adult TCKs and analysed using a thematic analysis framework. Results showed that the cultural identity of the adult TCKs was more complex to explore and understand primarily due to their unique base where they had the opportunity to get a wide range of exposure to opinions, perspectives, people, and cultures. Additionally, third culture communities are the environment that mould the TCKs' relation to culture and concepts of belonging and home. Most interviewees showed signs of early maturity regarding their value system, and perspective on life, both of which comprise their cultural identity. This is argued to be principally due to their exposure at a young age to an intricate web of actors, social cues, and different contextual environments. Lastly, given the sample groups' transient upbringing, they perceive that their relation to physical places is weak, resulting in continual revising of their identity and a strong connection to relational bonds. Potentially, TCKs have a paradigm that is distinctive as their conceptualisation of home, belonging, culture, and identity are developed in transient, diverse, and dynamic environments. The study provides valuable understanding on the TCK experience and its impact on cultural identity construction and relation to place. It contributes empirically and theoretically to the field of migration studies, child migrants and to underlining implications of being young and internationally mobile.

American families moving abroad are often informed of the initial difficulties they will encounter as residents in a new culture; however, they may not recognize the possible subsequent effects on their children, when returning home to their native cultures during the repatriation process. The children who experience the effect of living in a new culture and eventually repatriating are known as Third Culture Kids (TCK). As globalization and expatriate populations increase, it is important that society becomes aware of the Third Culture community. This qualitative research study focused on analyzing the repatriation transition process of four Adult Third Culture Kids (ATCK) and explored the relationship between their emotional intelligence and their third culture and repatriating experiences. This dissertation provides a profile for what type of citizen a TCK may become upon repatriation. Framed within a narrative inquiry approach this study utilized the Listening Guide method of analysis in order to capture the participants’ final narrative portraits. Storied themes emerged from the final narratives providing evidence for this research study’s five main conclusions: (a) home is not defined by one physical location, (b) assimilation and repatriation do not equate, (c) emotional intelligence may be a factor in repatriation success, (d) Third Culture experiences influence civic engagement, and (e) there is one incident that is perceived as signifying the completion of repatriation. These findings offer a new perspective of the repatriating experience and provide insight for families entering the expatriate culture and returning home.

This exploratory study investigates how American and Canadian parents living in Saudi Arabia perceive enrolling their children in an online virtual school. This research is relevant to North Americans living and working overseas and how these parents access educational opportunities for their children. North American parents living in Saudi Arabia with children have limited local educational options. If parents decided not to enroll their child in traditional private local international education, alternatives include boarding school, homeschool, or online school. Of the surveyed participants, 68% of parents had enrolled their children in online education or expressed interest in enrolling their children in online education but many lack information and knowledge about online education. A qualitative study analyzed participants in semi-structured interviews. Besides academic satisfaction, the most common reasons for alternative education are the lack of available competitive sports and the arts, including theatre and music. Four themes emerged from the data. Parent satisfaction about their children's education shifts from positive to negative around 8th or 9th grade. Parents are, in general, unwilling to take a risk on an unproven online school. Local private international schools are the focal point of extra-curricular activities and social events, but families lack connections and a supportive environment within the local Saudi Arabian community. Overall, parents do view full-time online education as a viable option for K-12 education; however, perhaps not for their children. Though standalone online classes, within a traditional face-to-face school, was received positively by many families.