Third culture kids

In a world where international careers are becoming commonplace, the phe’nomenon of third culture kids (TCKs)
children who spend a significant portion of their developmental years in a culture outside their parents' passport
culture(s) is increasing exponentially. Not only is their number increasing, but the cultural complexity and relevance
of their experience and the adult TCKs (ATCKs) they become, is also growing.

When Ruth Hill Useem, a sociologist, first coined this term in the 1950s, she spent a year researching expatriates in
India. She discovered that folks who came from their home (or first) culture and moved to a host (or second) culture,
had, in reality, formed a culture, or lifestyle, different from either the first or second cultures. She called this the
third culture and the children who grew up in this lifestyle 'third culture kids'. At that time, most expatriate families
had parents from the same culture and they often remained in one host culture while overseas.

This is no longer the case. Take, for example, Brice Royer, the founder of TCKid.com. His father is a half-French/half-
Vietnamese UN peacekeeper, while his mom is Ethiopian. Brice lived in seven countries before he was eighteen
including France, Mayotte, La Reunion, Ethiopia, Egypt, Canada and England. He writes, 'When people ask me 'Where
are you from?' I just joke around and say, -My mom says I'm from heaven.' What other answer can he give? ATCK
Elizabeth Dunbar's father, Roy, moved from Jamaica to Britain as a young boy. Her mother, Hortense, was born in
Britain as the child of Jamaican immigrants who always planned to repatriate 'one day'. While Elizabeth began life in
Britain, her dad's international career took the family to the United States, then to Venezuela and back to living in
three different cities in the U.S. She soon realised that while racial diversity may be recognised, the hidden cultural
diversity of her life remained invisible.

Despite such complexities, however, most ATCKs say their experience of growing up among different cultural worlds
has given them many priceless gifts. They have seen the world and often learnt several languages. More importantly,
through friendships that cross the usual racial, national or social barriers, they have also learned the very different
ways people see life. This offers a great opportunity to become social and cultural bridges between worlds that
traditionally would never connect. ATCK Mikel Jentzsch, author of a best-selling book in Germany, Bloodbrothers-
OurFriendship in Liberia, has a German passport but grew up in Niger and then Liberia. Before the Liberian civil war
forced his family to leave, Mikel played daily with those who were later forced to become soldiers for that war.
Through his eyes, the stories of those we would otherwise overlook come to life for the rest of us.

Understanding the TCK experience is also important for other reasons. Many ATCKs are now in positions of influence
and power. Their capacity to often think 'outside the box' can offer new and creative thinking for doing business and
living in our globalizing works. But that same thinking can create fear for those who see the world from a more
traditional world view. Neither the non-ATCKs nor the ATCKs may recognise that there may be a cultural clash going
on because, by traditional measures of diversity such as race or gender, they are alike.

In addition, many people hear the benefits and challenges of the TCK profile described and wonder why they relate
to it when they never lived overseas because of a parent's career. Usually, however, they have grown up cross-
culturally in another way, perhaps as children of immigrants, refugees, bi-racial or bi-cultural unions, international
adoptees, even children of minorities. If we see the TCK experience as a Petri dish of sorts a place where the effects
of growing up among many cultural worlds accompanied by a high degree of mobility have been studied then we
can look for what lessons may also be relevant to helping us understand issues other cross-cultural kids (CCKs) may
also face. It is possible we may discover that we need to rethink our traditional ways of defining diversity and
identity. For some, as for TCKs, 'culture' may be something defined by shared experience rather than shared
nationality or ethnicity. In telling their stories and developing new models for our changing world, many will be able
to recognize and use well the great gifts of a cross-cultural childhood and deal successfully with the challenges for
their persona, communal and corporate good.
Questions 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
Write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1. There is a close connection between careers and the number of TCKs. True

2. An increasing number of people describe themselves as TCKs. Not given

3. Ruth Hill Useem studied children in several countries. False

4. Ruth Hill Useem defined the third culture as a mixture of two parents’ original cultures. False

5. Brice Royer feels that he has benefited greatly from living in many different countries. Not given

6. Elizabeth Dunbar felt that she had a culture that was different from most people’s. True

Questions 7-13
Complete the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

THIRD CULTURE KIDS – ADVANTAGES AND RESULTS

Area Advantage for ATCKs Possible result

know how different people can act as bridges between worlds that are usually
Friendships
7______see life_________ separate

may cause 8______fear_________ among certain

people
Business creative thinking
can lead to 9______cutural clash_________ despite
similarities

can teach us about problems faced by

11_______CCKs________ of all kinds
knowledge of many cultural
Whole current ideas of what both 12______diversity and
worlds and a great deal of
experience identity_______ mean may be considered wrong
10_______mobility________
belief that culture depends on 13_____shared
experience__________