third culture kids: a river of transtion (otvx13 presentation)
DESCRIPTION
Presentation for the 2013 Occupational Therapy Virtual ExchangeTRANSCRIPT
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/