Transition programs and third culture kids in international schools

The rise of globally mobile families has led to an increase in the number of students enrolling at international schools (Hingston, 2022). The students’ parents expect these schools to provide a comparable education to what a student would receive in their home or passport country (Hingston, 2022), but as Third Culture Kids, these students may face additional challenges compared with domestic students. The research will focus on the lived experiences of English- speaking Third Culture Kids who attended or are currently attending, an international school where, although the language of instruction is/was English, the language spoken by most of the students is/was not. For this particular interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) research study, the seven participants sharing their lived experiences to the researcher were all from countries where English is the dominant language By using a grief model as a theoretical framework, and talking directly to the students, this IPA research will specifically explore how, from Third Culture Kids’ perspective, schools have supported English-speaking Third Culture Kid’s transition into a new international school. Key findings from the current research indicate that Third Culture Kids experienced negative experiences relating to their transition that tended to last for up to six months after their arrival. These less than positive experiences included issues with making friends at school (Lijadi & van Schalkwyk, 2014), trouble with the language (written or spoken), concerns with the new curriculum, and feelings of loss for what they left behind. After approximately six months, (chosen to coincide with the end of the Third Culture Kids’ first semester in the school and first academic reporting period) the emotional journey of the student was reviewed. The research investigated whether the Third Culture Kids had started to become more familiar with the language, customs, and culture, whether friendships had begun to form, and whether the feelings of loss had subsided. Based on the findings, a new grief model (the rollercoaster of TCK transitional ii emotions) is presented that could be used by schools to recognise how Third Culture Kids may be feeling during the first six months of their transition. Then, consider how they may support Third Culture Kids and potentially develop appropriate strategies to ensure the transition experience is a positive one.