Third Culture Kids

TCKs

Third Culture Kids (TCK) or third culture individuals (TCI) are people who were raised in a culture other than their parents' or the culture of their country of nationality, and also (like military brats) live in a different environment during a significant part of their child development years. They typically are exposed to a greater volume and variety of cultural influences than those who grow up in one particular cultural setting. The term applies to both adults and children, as the term kid refers to the individual's formative or developmental years. However, for clarification, sometimes the term adult third culture kid (ATCK) is used.

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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 the third culture refers to the distinct cultural ties among all third culture individuals that share no connection to the first two cultures.

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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." This language immersion is why TCKs are often bilingual, and sometimes even multilingual.

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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.

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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 shares a culture with all other TCKs. In 1993 she wrote:

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.

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— Ruth Hill Useem

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In 1984, author and researcher Norma McCaig used the term global nomad, 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).

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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 his or her own, thus integrating elements of those cultures and their own birth culture, into a third culture."

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David C. Pollock and Ruth Van Reken pioneered the TCK profile with the publishing of their book, Growing Up Among Worlds (first edition 1999), which brought to light the emotional and psychological realities that come with the TCK journey, often resulting in feelings of rootlessness and grief but also an increased confidence and ability to interact with many cultures. Their definition of what it means to be a TCK is widely referenced: "[A] person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents' culture. The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the TCK's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of the same background." Through interviews and personal writings, this seminal work explored the challenges and benefits that TCKs encounters. Later editions widened the net to discuss the experiences of CCKs (cross-cultural kids) who may be immigrants, international adoptees or the children of biracial or bicultural parents.

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General characteristics

Third culture individuals are particularly adept at building relationships with other cultures while not possessing a cultural identity of their own. They 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, and MCWE 2024 staff on the subject. The term TCKs may be applied to all social classes and includes immigrant and refugee students.

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 Benefits

• Expanded worldview: TCKs have an understanding that there is more than one way to look at situations that they are exposed to or experience. This can also be a challenge however, when TCKs return to a culture that is homogeneous in their belief system, as an expanded worldview is perceived as offensive or useless.

• Third-dimensional view of the world: With an increased number of hands-on experiences in multiple cultures, there is a difference in the way that the world is perceived. For example, there has been an increase in cross-cultural authors, such as Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, who have received awards for their works that are written from a multicultural perspective. These authors are able to provide vivid descriptions about the cultures they have directly experienced and thus their work appears to be "three-dimensional."

• Interpersonal sensitivity: Increased exposure to a variety of perceptions and lifestyles allows TCKs to monitor their emotions and register societal norms and cues more adeptly so as to produce higher sensitivity to other cultures and ways of life.

• Cross-cultural competence or cultural intelligence: the capacity to function effectively across national, ethnic, and organizational cultures.

• TCK have been found to have higher levels of general adjustment as opposed to mono-cultural children. Cultural adaptability is also a benefit, although may also come as a challenge which results from lack of cultural balance.

• The major benefit is related to language exposure.

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For more information on Third Culture Kids please read our blog. Information provided by The Institute on Military Children Affairs & Diplomacy (A Military Children Specific Think Tank).

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