Third culture kid

Third culture kids (TCK) are people raised in a culture other than their parents' or the culture of the country named on their passport (where they are legally considered native) for a significant part of their early development years. They are often exposed to a greater variety of cultural influences. The term can refer to both adults and children, as the term 'kid' points more to an individual's formative or developmental years, but for clarification, sometimes the term adult third culture kid (ATCK) is used.In summarizing that which we had observed in our cross-cultural encounters, we began to use the term 'third culture' as a generic term to cover the styles of life created, shared, and learned by persons who are in the process of relating their societies, or sections thereof, to each other. The term 'Third Culture Kids' or TCKs was coined to refer to the children who accompany their parents into another society. Third culture kids (TCK) are people raised in a culture other than their parents' or the culture of the country named on their passport (where they are legally considered native) for a significant part of their early development years. They are often exposed to a greater variety of cultural influences. The term can refer to both adults and children, as the term 'kid' points more to an individual's formative or developmental years, but for clarification, sometimes the term adult third culture kid (ATCK) is used. TCKs move between cultures before they have had the opportunity to fully develop their personal and cultural identity. The first culture of such individuals refers to the culture of the country from which the parents originated, the second culture refers to the culture in which the family currently resides, and although not widely agreed upon by the TCK community, some sources refer to the third culture as the amalgamation of these two cultures. In the early 21st century, the number of bilingual children in the world was about the same as the number of monolingual children. TCKs are often exposed to a second (or third, fourth, etc.) language while living in their host culture, being physically exposed to the environment where the native language is used in practical aspects of life. 'TCKs learn some languages in schools abroad and some in their homes or in the marketplaces of a foreign land. ... Some pick up languages from the nannies in the home or from playmates in the neighborhood' (Bell-Villada et al. 23). This language immersion is why TCKs are often bilingual, and sometimes even multilingual. The term 'third culture kid' was first coined by researchers John and Ruth Useem in the 1950s, who used it to describe the children of American citizens working and living abroad. Ruth Useem first used the term after her second year-long visit to India with her fellow sociologist/anthropologist husband and three children. Useem et al. (1963) depicted individuals who have undergone such an experience as having distinct standards of interpersonal behavior, work-related norms, codes of lifestyle and perspectives, and communication. This creates a new cultural group that does not fall into their home or host culture, but rather share a culture with all other TCKs. In 1993 she wrote: Kay Branaman Eakin, the former Education Counselor for the United States Department of State, worked with American families returning to the United States after having lived abroad. She described a TCK as 'someone who, as a child, has spent a significant period of time in one or more culture(s) other than own, thus integrating elements of those cultures and their own birth culture, into a third culture.' In 1984, author and researcher Norma McCaig used the term 'global nomad', which is synonymous with TCK, but was used in order to take into account that the child's situation was as a result of a parent or parents' career or life choice(s). TCKs are particularly adept at building relationships with other cultures while not possessing a cultural identity of their own. Third culture kids can also be referred to as cultural hybrids, cultural chameleons, and global nomads. It has been discussed in the past that the characteristics that have been put forth by prominent researchers in the TCK field have only been discussed when referring to American children who have lived abroad. However, there has been further research done on TCKs that shows that the same characteristics described by Pollock and Useem in the most prominent TCK literature also apply to individuals from other nations who have also lived abroad for extended periods of time during their developmental years.There are benefits and challenges to being a TCK according to various researchers on the subject. The term TCKs may be applied to all social classes and although there are certain distinctions between TCKs and immigrants, it can include immigrant and refugee students (Dewaele 8c van Oudenhoven, 2009). One of the challenges of being a third culture kid during childhood is developing a sense of belonging, commitment, and attachment to a culture. These factors play a strong role in one's self-esteem and identity, and are especially apparent as present or not present among TCKs. There are psychological benefits to being a bi-culturally competent individual, meaning that adjustment to the host culture and repatriation do not pose a difficulty for the individual. Individuals who do not experience this same smooth transition into the new culture are referred to as 'culturally rootless' and 'cultural homelessness'. Culturally homeless (CH) individuals often experience confusion over their identity and especially because the TCK is frequently abroad during the adolescent development years when identity is most solidified psychologically. When individuals who have spent a significant number of their developmental years in a host culture and have not been able to adapt, develop an identity, and do not feel as though they belong, they are considered 'culturally homeless'. Cultural homelessness has been found to have both advantages and disadvantages, at times to being associated with low self-esteem, perceiving less control over one's own life, and an unsatisfactory level of experience with belonging and attachment.