Third Culture Kids & the Hidden Curriculum (for parents)

The cultural, emotional & academic impact of international education & mobility

This is the e-handout for the webinar presentation for parents at SSIS. It includes a list of resources mentioned in the presentation, the slide deck and additional resources.

Core topics

  • Intergenerational cultural gaps
    How is your child(ren)’s experience of international education or mobility different from your childhood experiences?
  • Multilingual perspectives
    How does bilingualism/multilingualism affect your child(ren)’s perspectives? What is their relationship with the languages they speak?
  • Internalized racism
    How does the hidden curriculum impact students’ sense of self? What is internalized racism? In what way does it affect their relationship with their parent(s)’ language and culture?
  • Hidden curriculum
  • What is the hidden curriculum? How does it show up in international schools?

Slides

You can download the slides from the workshop in PDF format below.

Main text

Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International SchoolDanau Tanu, 2018. 

Resources

Bong Joon Ho Interpreter Sharon Choi Relives Historic ‘Parasite’ Awards Season in Her Own Words (EXCLUSIVE)‘ by Sharon Choi in Variety.

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd Edition. David Pollock, Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael Pollock, 2017.

Misunderstood: The Impact of Growing Up Overseas in the 21st Century. Tanya Crossman, 2016. See also www.tanyacrossman.com

‘Lost’ first languages leave permanent mark on the brain, new study reveals in The Guardian, 20 November 2014

The Traumatizing Gift: a Global Childhood – A TEDx talk by Saeko Mizuta, CEO of the TCK Workshop (日本語)

Additional resources

www.tcksofasia.org


TCKs of Asia
 & Third Culture Stories podcast.

Weird Culture Kids by Ngoc Nguyen, a Vietnamese who attended French international schools all her life

‘Third Culture Kids: The Return Home’ by Tim Brantingham in Sandwich Parenting.

The Hidden Curriculum of International Schools (Staff)

Understanding the student experience and impact on staff relations

This is the handout for the webinar presentation for the Business Staff Session at KIS. It includes a list of resources mentioned in the presentation, the slide deck and additional resources.

Photo of a two way street with arrows pointing in each direction.
Photo by Marissa&Eric on Unsplash.

Core topics

  • Cultural gaps
    What are some of the cultural gaps that exist at KIS?
  • Hidden curriculum
    What is the hidden curriculum? How does it show up in international schools?
  • Internalized racism
    What is internalized racism? In what way does it affect the way you see yourself? The way you see others?

Slide deck

The slide deck from the workshop will be available here after the workshop in PDF format.

Speakers

Danau Tanu, Ph.D., anthropologist & author of Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School
www.danautanu.com

Isabelle Min, coach & facilitator, CEO of Transition Catalyst Korea (TCK) Institute
www.tck.or.kr

Main text

Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International SchoolDanau Tanu, 2018. 

The Strength of Weak Ties

How can you use ‘the strength of weak ties’ to improve well-being?: Investing a little time to develop weak ties with students may help them feel more ‘seen’ and help the campus feel more inclusive.

Self-reflection: Being ‘seen’

Q. Describe a time when you felt seen. How did it make you feel?

Instruction

Work in pairs. 10 minutes total.

  • Step 1: Speaker shares story (4 min)
  • Step 2: The Listener retell the Speaker’s story using ‘Active Listening’ skills (1 min)
  • Step 3: Swap roles. Repeat steps 1 & 2

Active Listening

Be neutral. Do not judge.
Be attentive (nod, etc), patient and don’t fill the silences.

Reflect back to the speaker what they said. Use their words as much as possible. Do not interpret. Do not add your opinion. 

‘Growing up among worlds’ & the hidden curriculum – The stuff we don’t talk about (KIS)

This is the handout for the webinar presentation for the Student Session at KIS. It includes a list of resources mentioned in the presentation, the slide deck and additional resources.

Photo of a bright, motley coloured chameleon
Cultural chameleon

Core topics

  • Identity & mobility
    How does going to an international school affect your sense of identity? How does moving schools or countries affect your sense of identity?
  • Internalized racism
    What is internalized racism? In what way does it affect the way you see yourself? The way you see others?
  • Hidden curriculum
    What is the hidden curriculum? How does it show up in international schools?
  • Intergenerational cultural gaps
    How does your international schooling affect your relationship with your parent(s)’ language and culture? Is your child(ren)’s experience of international education or mobility different from your parents’ experiences?

Slide deck

The slide deck from the workshop will be available here after the workshop in PDF format.

Speakers

Danau Tanu, Ph.D., anthropologist & author of Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School
www.danautanu.com

Isabelle Min, coach & facilitator
www.tck.or.kr

Main text

Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International SchoolDanau Tanu, 2018. 

Resources in order of appearance

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd Edition. David Pollock, Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael Pollock, 2017.

‘Third Culture Kids: The Return Home’ by Tim Brantingham in Sandwich Parenting.

Bong Joon Ho Interpreter Sharon Choi Relives Historic ‘Parasite’ Awards Season in Her Own Words (EXCLUSIVE)‘ by Sharon Choi in Variety.

Breakout session for self-reflection: Being ‘seen’

INSTRUCTIONS

Work in pairs. 8 minutes total.

  • Step 1: Speaker shares story (4 min)
  • Step 2: The Listener retell the Speaker’s story using ‘Active Listening’ skills (1 min)
  • Step 3: Swap roles. Repeat steps 1 & 2
ACTIVE LISTENING

Be neutral. Do not judge.
Be attentive (nod, etc), patient and don’t fill the silences.

Reflect back to the speaker what they said. Use their words as much as possible. Do not interpret. Do not add your opinion.

Create a senior class tradition?

Photo of a two way street with arrows pointing in each direction.
Photo by Marissa&Eric on Unsplash.

A community building exercise. Aim: To foster inclusivity & connection

How can you use the last few months of your high school career to foster more inclusivity among your classmates? How can you create a sense of connection with your classmates in your grade?

How can you stay connected and support each other after you leave KIS?

Additional resources


The Traumatizing Gift: a Global Childhood
 – A TEDx talk by Saeko Mizuta, CEO of the TCK Workshop (日本語)

TCKs of Asia & Third Culture Stories podcast.

Educating multilingual children in a globalising world – KIS

The cultural, emotional & academic impact of international education & mobility

This is the handout for the webinar presentation for the Parent Session (English) at KIS. It includes a list of resources mentioned in the presentation, the slide deck and additional resources.

Photo of a two way street with arrows pointing in each direction.
Photo by Marissa&Eric on Unsplash.

Core topics

  • Intergenerational cultural gaps
    How is your child(ren)’s experience of international education or mobility different from your childhood experiences?
  • Multilingual perspectives
    How does bilingualism/multilingualism affect your child(ren)’s perspectives? What is their relationship with the languages they speak?
  • Internalized racism
    How does the hidden curriculum impact students’ sense of self? What is internalized racism? In what way does it affect their relationship with their parent(s)’ language and culture?
  • Hidden curriculum
  • What is the hidden curriculum? How does it show up in international schools?

Slides

You can download the slides from the workshop in PDF format below.

Speakers

Danau Tanu, Ph.D., anthropologist & author of Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School
www.danautanu.com

Isabelle Min, coach & facilitator
www.tck.or.kr

Main text

Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International SchoolDanau Tanu, 2018. 

Resources in order of appearance

Sundae Bean podcast episode: 146: Hidden Hierarchies in International Schools with Danau Tanu

‘Third Culture Kids: The Return Home’.Tim Brantingham in Sandwich Parenting.

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd Edition. David Pollock, Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael Pollock, 2017.

Safe Passage: How mobility affects people & what international schools should do about it. Doug Ota, 2014.

(Additional resource: Misunderstood: The Impact of Growing Up Overseas in the 21st Century. Tanya Crossman, 2016. See also www.tanyacrossman.com)

‘Lost’ first languages leave permanent mark on the brain, new study reveals in The Guardian, 20 November 2014

The Traumatizing Gift: a Global Childhood – A TEDx talk by Saeko Mizuta, CEO of the TCK Workshop (日本語)

TCKs of Asia & Third Culture Stories podcast.

www.tcksofasia.org

Breakout Sessions: Challenges & Aspirations

Q1. Can you recognise any cultural gaps between you and your child(ren)? If so, please describe it.

Q2. What is your highest aspiration for your child(ren)?

Duration: 8 minutes

Being ‘Seen’

This is the handout for the webinar presentation for the PD session at JIS. It includes a list of resources mentioned in the presentation, the slide deck and additional resources.


Photo by Monstera from Pexels
MAIN THEME
  • Being ‘seen’
CORE TOPICS
  • identity development: mirror concept
  • privilege (as contextual) & internalised racism
  • cultural gaps in the international school setting
SLIDE DECK

The slide deck from the workshop is available in PDF format.

Main text

Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International SchoolDanau Tanu, 2018. 

Resources in order of appearance

‘Third Culture Kids: The Return Home’.Tim Brantingham in Sandwich Parenting.

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd Edition. David Pollock, Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael Pollock, 2017.

Hidden Hierarchies in International Schools on Expat Happy Hour podcast by Sundae Bean.

The Traumatizing Gift: a Global Childhood – A TEDx Fullbright Tokyo talk by Saeko Mizuta. Saeko is CEO of the TCK Workshop (日本語), an online tutoring service for bilingual children (Japanese and English).

Aiko Minematsu – University Lecturer. (See TCKs of Asia podcast)

www.tcksofasia.org

The Strength of Weak Ties

Original study: The concept of weak ties was originally developed to study what type of networking is useful for job search

For well being: Investing a little time to develop weak ties with students may help them feel more ‘seen’ and help the campus feel more inclusive

For recruitment: The concept of weak ties has been widely applied to diversifying job recruitment pools


Oxford IB Diploma Programme: IB Theory of Knowledge Course Book by Marija Uzunova Dang and Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang. Oxford University Publishing, 2020.

Safe Passage: How mobility affects people & what international schools should do about it. Doug Ota, 2014.

TCKs of Asia & Third Culture Stories podcast.

Breakout Sessions

Instructions

Work in pairs. 10 minutes total.

  • Step 1: Speaker shares story (4 min)
  • Step 2: The Listener retell the Speaker’s story using ‘Active Listening’ skills (1 min)
  • Step 3: Swap roles. Repeat steps 1 & 2
Active Listening

Be neutral. Do not judge.
Be attentive (nod, etc), patient and don’t fill the silences.

Reflect back to the speaker what they said. Use their words as much as possible. Do not interpret. Do not add your opinion.

BREAKOUT 1 – Self-reflection: Being ‘seen’

  • Q1. Describe a time when you felt seen by a teacher (or any adult). Why did you feel seen?
  • Q2. Describe a time when you did not feel seen by a teacher (or any adult). Why did you not feel seen?

BREAKOUT 2 – Self-reflection: Privilege

  • Q1. Describe a story that might indicate that you or your family don’t have privilege.
  • Q2. Describe an area in which you benefit from the existing social or historical context. 

BREAKOUT 3 – Cultural Gaps

  • Q1. Are there any areas where you think you haven’t made enough effort to understand the other perspective? What can you do to change this?
  • Q2. What’s your key takeaway today? What resonated?