Third Culture Formation Revisited - Forum on Education Abroad

<strong>Third</strong> <strong>Culture</strong> 

<strong>Formation</strong> 

<strong>Revisited</strong> Where are we today? 

■ Jim Citron, Dartmouth College 

■ Charles Morse, Worcester Polytechnic Institute 

■ Lilli Engle, American University Center of Provence 

<strong>Forum</strong> on Education Abroad 

Chicago, 2013

1994 vs. 2013 

Where Are We Today? 

Jim Citron 

Intercultural Education Specialist 

Dartmouth College 


Chicago, 2013

• U-Curve and stages of cultural adjustment (Oberg, 

Gullahorn & Gullahorn, and others) 

• Honeymoon 

• <strong>Culture</strong> Shock 

• Recovery/Adjustment 

• Mastery of Host <strong>Culture</strong> 

1994 

Dominant Paradigms 

Jim Citron, Dartmouth College 

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Instead of 

Something Like This 


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I Found Things Like This 


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“Being in a foreign country means walking a 

tightrope high above the ground without the net 

afforded a person by the country where he has his 

family, colleagues, and friends, and where he can 

easily say what he has to say in a language he has 

known from childhood.” 


Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, 1984 


Chicago, 2013 

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Not Spanish 

• Language Use 

• News Sources 

• Classroom behavior and interaction 

• Choice of venues of socialization 

• Meal customs 

Not U.S. 

• Norms around socializing 

• Hours (meals, sleep, etc.) 

• More free time 

• Less control over lives or belongings 

• Short-timer’s attitude 

• Travel 

Characteristics of 

<strong>Third</strong> <strong>Culture</strong> 


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Re-entry Dimensions: 

• Physical/Logistical 

• Interpersonal 

• Cultural 

• Personal 

Implications for Re-entry 

and for Learning 


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Student A: 

“I just realize now how, like Spain, and probably many 

other countries, like everything they have is, like, ours, but 

like in their version like. Like, the movies that you watch 

in Spain are like American, you know, dubbed in Spanish. 

So, like, I just realized that America is like, I appreciate 

America and how great it is and like how we, like, have 

everything, you know?” 

Q: “What did you get from 

the experience?” 


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Student B: 

“Good grades, I hope.... I got a killer semester vacation all 

expenses paid; I got just a great time meeting cool people 

and that's something that's going to stay with me forever; I 

got to better my Spanish skills; I got good memories. “ 

Q: "Just having been far away for a long time, did you see 

anything through different eyes at all...?" A: "Not 

especially... Not that I can think of." 

Q: “What did you get from 

the experience?” 


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Factors that Lead to 

Integration or <strong>Third</strong> 

<strong>Culture</strong> Retreat 

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• Housing arrangements 

• Opportunities for meaningful interaction with host 

nationals 

• Direct enrollment into host institution 

• Host culture traits 

Host Context Factors 


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• Pre-departure reading materials and/or orientation 

• Academic and sociocultural orientation 

• Length of stay 

• Presence of trusted mentor or resident administrator 

• Peer advisors/informants native to the host culture 

• Internet access 

Program Factors 


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• Presence of peer group of foreign students 

• Leaders of group / group norms and orientation toward 

integration 

• Size of group 

Group Factors 


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• Personal goals 

• Language skills 

• Personality 

• Financial resources 

Individual Factors 


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Our Wonderful 

Students 

Millennials… 

and so much more 

Charles Morse, MA, LMHC 

Assistant Dean for Student Development 

Director 

WPI Student Development & Counseling 

cmorse@wpi.edu 


Chicago, 2013

• A generation is composed of people whose common 

location in history lends them a collective persona. The 

span of one generation is roughly the length of a phase 

of life. 

• On Campus Today (4 Generations) 

– Silent (1924-1942) Colin Powell/Gloria Steinem 

– Boomer (1943-1961) Steven Spielberg/Oprah Winfrey 

– Generation X (1962-1980) Michael Jordan/Jodie Foster 

– Millennials (1980-2000) Frankie Muniz/ Mandy Moore 

Generational Models 

Charles Morse, Worcester Polytechnic Institute 

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Chicago, 2013

• 1925 – 1942 “Silent Generation” 

– Grew up during war and depression 

– Introspective seekers, artisans 

• 1940s – 1960s “Baby Boomers” 

– Grew up post WWII during time marked by prosperity and growth 

– Optimistic, positive, rebellious, idealistic, want it all, willing to go 

extra mile 

• 1960s – late 1970s “Generation X” 

– Grew up during corporate and political unrest 

– Independent, self-reliant, skeptical, pragmatic, results oriented 

Generations Characterized 

Charles Morse, Worcester Polytechnic Institute <strong>Forum</strong> on Education Abroad 

Chicago, 2013 

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Millennial Demographics 

• 95 million, largest since baby boomer generation 

- Generation X – 68 million 

- Baby boomer – 78 million 

• Culturally diverse – 40% African-american, Latino, 

Asian, mixed-race 

• First entered college in 2000, last will graduate in 2025 


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• Special 

• Increased Self-esteem, confidence 

• Optimism 

“revered, praised, sheltered, befriended and carefully guided by their 

parents to lead well structured lives based on adherence to clear 

mutually agreed upon rules. (self-important, entitled, indecisive, 

non-resilient)” 

Child-Centered Upbringing 


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• Sheltered 

• Appreciate mentors 

• Function better knowing rules, expectations, 

consequences 

• Struggle with self-structuring 

• Difficulty with independent creative thought and decision 

making 

Increased Involvement of 

Parents 


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• Special 

- High self esteem 

- Strong sense of self-importance 

• Sheltered 

- Child safety, amber alerts, gps monitoring 

- Increased parental involvement 

• Helicopter – stealth fighter parents 

- Healthier, less prone to injury 

- Dramatic decline in physical activity, increased obesity 

Core traits of Millennials 


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• Confident 

- Rate themselves as happy more frequently 

- High level of trust and optimism about future 

- Make contributions vs. make money 

• Team oriented 

- Very oriented towards peers (facebook) 

- Concerned about community (wealth inequality) 

- Increased voting rate 

Core Traits (cont) 


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• Conventional 

- Share much more with parents (music, values) 

- Seek norms, structure, rules 

- Civic engagement 

• Pressured 

- Work hard, avoid risk 

- Competitive with peers 

- Financial burden 

- Hard time thinking “out of the box” 



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• High Achieving 

- “Smartest” and best educated 

- Seek feedback and rewards 

- Rising SAT scores 

- Demand opportunities for involvement and leadership 



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• Team oriented, like to work with others 

• Expect to both work and have fun at the same time 

• Multitaskers 

• Confidence sometimes outpaces competence 

• High functioning, high achieving 

• Hard work for meaningful purposes 

Attitude towards work 


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“For the most part they are bright, 

concerned, connected and 

technologically savvy kids that 

work and play well with others.” 


Chicago, 2013 

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Heroes with a fatal flaw? 

• A great challenge…a grand destiny 

• Difficulty with struggle 

• Difficulty with failure 

• Will they persist in the face of adversity? 

Challenge and Connect 


Chicago, 2013 

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INTERGRATION 

STATEGIES 

A holistic, « millenial » approach 

Lilli Engle 

Founding Director 

American University Center of Provence – Aix / Marseille, France 


Chicago, 2013

• Globalization 

• Social networks 

• Atrophied interpersonal skills 

• Comfort-zone Services 

• Risk adversity & Protective Parents 

• Critical Clout 

Factors that Weigh Against the 

Encounter with Difference 

Lilli Engle, American University Center of Provence 

Aix / Marseille, France 

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Chicago, 2013

Getting from Point A to Point B 

• Attentuate the negative 

• Accentuate the positive 

Key to successful 

program design 



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• Establish clear expectations and clear sanctions 

• Sign contractual agreements 

• Set realistic but ambitious goals 

• Highlight milestones 

• Underline challenges and congratulate success 

• Emphasize « right choices » for each student as 

the creator of his/her experience 

Must do 

Strategies for the « millenial stretch » 



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Immersion 

• In-house courses with 

local professors 

• Direction enrolment 

option 

• Community Service 

• Individual Homestay 

Placement 

• Language Partner 

• Personal Interest Activity 

Intervention 

• In-coming & on-going 

orientation 

• Intercultural 

Communication Class 

• One on one Mentoring 

Experiential/Constructivist Learning 

Holistic Program Design 



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Active Experimentation 

Developing empathy 

Trying new ways of interaction 

Re-positioning the Self 

Abstract Conceptualization 

Guided group discussion & analysis 

De-briefing experiences 

Cataloging / schematizing of 

cultural values & assumptions 

Concrete Experience 

Regular interaction with host nationals 

Discovery of values & preferences 

Reflective Observation 

Objective recording & sharing 

of both feelings & events 

Identifying “difference” 

and one’s reactive response 

AUCP’s Implementation of David Kolb’s 

Experiential Learning Cycle 



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Interventions serve to: 

• Sharpen perception 

• Cultivate “witnessing awareness” 

• Target right questions instead of right answers 

Intercultural Learning 



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Sharpen Perception & Highlight Difference 

Storti, C. Figuring Out Foreigners (1999) Intercultural Press, Boston, MA; London, UK 




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• Raymonde Carroll methodology for cultural analysis 

Carroll, R. (1988). Cultural Misunderstandings: The French-American Experience 

(C.Volk.trans.). 

Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 

• Thiagi: Six-point de-brief 

Thiagarajan, S. (2004) Six phases of debriefing. Retrieved from 

http://www.thiagi.com/pfp/IE4H/february2004.html#february2004.html#Debriefing 

• Rosenberg : Non-violent Communication 

Rosenberg, Marshall B., Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. Encinitas: Puddle 

Dancer Press, 2003 

Asking Right Questions & 

Cultivating « Witnessing Awareness » 



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• Seek meaning, not explanations: how meaning is produced, not why 

it is so 

• Cultivate self-awareness (emotions & judgments) 

• Be on the look out for the « bizarre » , sign of a new cultural context 

to be explored 

• Imagine a context in which the « bizarre » becomes « normal » 

• Identify a cultural interpretation that manifests elsewhere in the same 

culture, albeit in a different form 

Raymonde Carroll 

methodology for cultural analysis 



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1. How Do You Feel? 

Share strong feelings and listen without judgment. 

2. What Happened? 

Descriptively recall the series of events. 

3. What Did You Learn? 

Identify general principles based on the activity and discuss them. 

4. How Does This Relate To The Real World? 

Identify relevance to real-world experiences. Suggest that the 

activity is a metaphor and ask participants to offer real-world 

analogies. 

5. What If? 

Imagine alternative scenarios to speculate on how people's 

behaviors would change. 

6. What Next? 

Apply insights to modify real-world behaviour. 

Thiagi: Six-point de-brief 

People don't learn from experience; they learn from reflecting on their experience. 



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• What happened? 

Indentifies concrete actions we observe that affect our 

well-being 

• How do you feel about what happened? 

Indentifies how we feel in relation to what we observe 

• What would you like that you’re not getting? 

Indentifies needs, values, desires, etc. that create our 

feelings 

• What can you ask for? 

Identifies concrete actions we request in order to enrich 

our lives 

Marshall Rosenberg 

Non-violent Communication 



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Observation 

• Afraid, agitated, angry, anxious 

• Beat, bitter, blue, bored 

• Cold, confused, cross 

• Depressed, disappointed, discouraged 

• Edgy, embarrassed, exhausted 

• Fidgety, frightened, furious 

• Gloomy, guilty 

• Helpless, hesitant, hurt 

• Impatient, indifferent, irate 

• Jealous, jittery … 

Identifying Honest Feelings 



• Abandoned, abused, attacked 

• Betrayed, boxed-in, bullied 

• Cheated, coerced, cornered 

• Diminished, disrespected 

• Misunderstood, neglected 

• Patronized, provoked, put down 

• Rejected, taken for granted 

• Threatened, unappreciated 

• Unsupported, unheard 

• Unwanted, used 

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Third Culture Formation Revisited - Forum on Education Abroad

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