I am really interested in getting to know how many Dutch third culture kids transition from abroad to Dutch universities. Can anyone help me out? Do you know the figures? Years ago I was a third culture kid moving from Zimbabwe to the Netherlands to study. I had not heard of the term "third culture kid", I had no idea what challenges I would face, I did not know that I was a "hidden immigrant". There was no extra help from the university, no extra language help, no extra support. I was not even identified as coming from abroad.
Gaw* (2007) says that re-entry is often more challenging and unsettling than initial culture shock, affecting academic, social and psychological functioning. As with other non majority groups TCKs are less likely to seek support services on campus. "The non-linear background of the TCK does not fit the mold of the average intake form." There's a good idea here: Downey suggests that counseling centres may consider adding questions to their surveys or intake forms: before the age of 18 I lived in more than one country/culture. A question like this would help identify third culture kids. It is only worth identifying TCKs if there are people who are equipped to help them. According to Downey counselors must extend:
- support
- validation
- encouragement
- along with cultural compentence
- and intercultural understanding
Gaw cautions mental health practitioners to be aware of possible misdiagnosis or incorrect clinical procedures that may result from:
- misunderstanding this population
- not accepting or validating this population
- assuming the TCK experience is transitory and something to grow out of
- assuming the assessment tools and constructs normed with the majority population will be applicable.
Soon colleges and universities will start their academic year and over 37,000 TCKs will return to America to further their education. An unknown number of TCKs will re-enter the Netherlands and many other countries. What will their experience be like? Will it be different to mine years ago? Will they be identified? Will they be helped by well-equipped counselors, and mental health practitioners that have experience working with third culture kids? What was your experience like when you went to college or university?
By the way there is a new useful book to help you prepare for your transition to university. It's the book "A Global Nomad's Guide to University Transition" by Tina Quick.
*Gaw, K.F. (2007) Mobility, Multiculturalism and Marginality: Counseling Third Culture Students. Special Populations in College Counseling: A Handbook for Mental Health Practitioners(63-76).
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Let's hope they will be identified and supported now! Thanks for drawing my attention to such an important topic.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, Dutch TCKs will never be prioritized by universities. They are only interested in cutting costs. They get so many international students yearly who don't even speak the language at all, so they are not going to be putting any effort into kids who already speak (a certain level of) Dutch and have some sort of family network in Holland already. International students from Europe don't even get much, if any, support. So Dutch TCKs are going to have to organize their own system of support for these students if they are to get any support outside of family. It would help just to meet with other TCKs, so you don't feel so alone, as everyone else is not really interested in hearing your story and has no way of understanding what it's like anyway.
ReplyDeleteOnce I did have a woman who said to me "So you don't really feel Dutch then", and I said "Wow, no one else has ever had the insight to say something in that" - but I found out she, of course, was a TCK herself :)
@Tallulah Thanks for your comment. I hopped over to your blog and had a fun read. You're really having a language adventure together! Greetings Janneke
ReplyDelete@Anonymous Thanks for stopping by and sharing your vision. I like your suggestion of organizing our own opportunities to meet each other. I know that looking back, something like that would have helped me. It does seem true that most people are not waiting to hear our story. Wow, that must have been a nice conversation with the other TCK :). I have noticed that I feel at home in international environments, so becoming a member of an international students group might help a little too?
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this. I do think the sort of support you wrote about is really important. Another way to help TCK's is to provide them with a mentor. I run Sea Change Mentoring, which is an online mentoring program for expat teens. As anonymous pointed out, it is so nice to talk with people that actually understand what you are going through. All of our mentors are TCK's that have gone through the process of adjust back home. If you are interested, you can learn about us at www.seachangementoring.com
ReplyDeleteHello Ellen. Thank you for telling us about your online mentoring program for expat teens, I had not heard of it yet. It sounds really interesting! Thank you for sharing the link too. Anonymous suggested it too and so did someone on twitter the other day. I would love to hear more about the program.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and informative to read as a guidance counselor and TCK. Thank you for sharing, and I linked it to my blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Elfie, thanks for stopping by and linking this article on your blog. What you write is so true too, it would help TCKs who seek help if the therapists would know more about TCKs and about the challenges we face and have faced.
ReplyDeleteAs an international school counselor I talk to students quite a bit about TCK issues and give them a heads up to what they might expect in their transition. We give them the skills to do so academically, equally important is the emotional transition. I know Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR have a specific program for TCKs not just international students; I'd love to see more (maybe there are more out there and I've just not heard of them?)
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