Comparative Education Bulletin - Faculty of Education - The ...

Theory’ as propounded by Pollock and Van Reken nevertheless
remains open to valid doubts, not because of inaccurate findings on
their part, but because of the universal need for qualitative academic
research to be fair and credible with carefully guarded generalisability.
Creating a Context for the Study
Since it was coined in the 1950s, the term ‘Third Culture Kids’ has
undergone dramatic changes and modifications, taking into consideration
the spread and impact of globalisation and the fact that
many expatriates no longer live in defined communities. In their
writing, Pollock and Van Reken take these changes into consideration
and attempt to add a new level of articulation and visibility in
understanding the children of the globally nomadic community. In
characterising TCKs, Pollock writes:
The Third Culture Kid builds relationships to all of the cultures,
while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from
each culture are assimilated into the TCKs life experience, the sense
of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background
(2003, p.19).
They place significant emphasis on the trying developmental
task TCKs have with forming a sense of cultural ownership, balance,
stability and belonging (Pollock, 2003, pp.40-43), writing that TCKs
frequently struggle with finding a sense of cultural balance and
identity “because the cultural values and practices of the communities
they find themselves in often change radically as they shift from one
place to another” (Pollock, 2003, pp.43-46). They also describe the
impact of and struggle with high mobility and physical transition
common in the lives of TCKs, questioning how any child can survive
the cultural confusion and chronic change associated with transition
and explaining that TCKs may be left doubting their sense of identity
and stability (Pollock, 2003, pp.43-46).
In a chapter titled ‘Meeting Educational Needs’, Pollock and
Van Reken write about the importance of the educational process
for TCKs. They begin by explaining that experiences in school
dramatically shape how TCKs view their childhood and whether they
look back onto it with joy or regret (pp.213-217). They then proceed
to outline some of the underlying principles that can help parents
make suitable educational choices for TCKs while simultaneously
emphasising the role and responsibilities of educators to develop and
promote appropriate programs of cultural skill building and identity
exploration for TCKs (p.231).
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