Transitions: Third Culture Children

Abstract

This paper reports on a small-scale research study conducted in Singapore, where some 16,000 children are enrolled in ‘foreign schools’. Such children, often termed Third Culture Children, are neither raised entirely in their parents' home country nor as a member of the country where they now live. Pollock and Van Reken (2001) state that the children build relationships to all cultures, while not having full ownership of any country. These children may be confronted with cultural conflict, especially following a move to a new school, and/or entry to a school culture which is significantly different from what they previously experienced. Some are able to resolve the conflict, while others experience difficulties. Feelings of displacement, rejection and unease can be common when children are experiencing a transition of some impact. The research reported here shows the transition experiences of 11 children during the first eight weeks of their move to an international school in Singapore.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allan

(2002). Cultural borderlands: A case study of cultural dissonance in an international school. Journal of Research in International Education, 1(1), 63–90.

Bell

(2002). Doing your research project: A guide for first-time researchers in education and social science. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Berk

L. E.

(2000). Child development. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Berk

L. E.

(2002). Infants, children, and adolescents. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Brewer

(1995). Early intervention: The transition to school. What do teachers think? Australian Research in Early Childhood Education, 1, 1–13.

Cleave

, Jowett

, & Bate

(1982). And so to school: A study of continuity from pre-school to infant school. Windsor, UK: NFER-Nelson.

Dockett

, & Perry

(1999). Starting school: What matters for children, parents and educators? Canberra: Australian Early Childhood Association.

Dockett

, Perry

& Howard

(1999, 30–31 October). Starting school: What matters to whom? Paper presented at the Transition to school: Australian research and practice conference, Sydney.

Glicksberg-Skipper

(2000). Third Culture Kids: Growing up abroad offers advantages. Transitions Abroad Magazine. Retrieved 15 March 2005, http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0009/third_culture_kids_research.shtml.

10.

Hubbard

R. S.

, & Power

B. M.

(1999). Living the questions: A guide for teacher–researchers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

11.

Kitson

R. M.

(2002). Starting school in Negara Brunei Darussalam: The voices of children, parents, teachers and principals. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of South Australia.

12.

Kuebli

(1999). Young children's understanding of everyday emotions. In Berk

L. E.

(Ed.), Landscapes of development: An anthology of readings (pp. 123–136). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

13.

Lambert

E. B.

, & Clyde

(2000). Rethinking early childhood theory and practice. Katoomba, NSW: Social Science Press.

14.

Leo

(2003). Nurturing our children's resilience. Retrieved 15 March 2005, http://www.connectionparenting.com/parenting_articles/resilience.html.

15.

Margetts

(1999, 30–31 October). Factors influencing transition to school. Paper presented at the Transition to school: Australian research and practice conference, Sydney.

16.

Pollock

D. C.

, & Van Reken

R. E.

(2001). Third Culture Kids: The experience of growing up among worlds. Yarmouth, ME: Nicholas Brealey/Intercultural Press.

17.

Ramey

S. L.

, & Ramey

C. T.

(1994). The transition to school: Why the first few years matter for a lifetime. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(3), 194–198.

18.

Roman

B. D.

(2001). Relocating our smallest movers. Relocation Today. Retrieved 15 March 2005, http://www.expats-in-bavaria.com/2/index.php?id=163,2,0,0,1,0.

19.

Schaffer

H. R.

(1996). Social development. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

20.

Sharpe

, & Gan

(2000). Aspects of adjustment to primary school—some guidelines for teachers and parents. In Tan-Niam

C. S. L.

& Quah

M. L.

(Eds.), Investing in our future: The early years (pp. 242–257). Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

21.

Sims

, & Hutchins

(1999). Positive transitions. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 24(3), 12–16.

22.

Van Reken

R. E.

(2001, 7 March). Third culture kids—raising children in a cross-cultural world and making the most of the journey. Paper presented at the Supportive Parents Conference, Singapore.

23.

Werner

E. E.

, & Smith

R. S.

(2002). Armadillos aren't the only mammals that grow armour. In Dixon

W. E.

Jr. (Ed.), Twenty studies that revolutionized child psychology (pp. 207–219). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

24.

Zoetmulder

E. J.

(2003). Making sense of education—for professionals. Teach, May, 20–21.