TCKID: What is a Third Culture Kid? (TCKs)
. What's a TCK? . About . . Resources . . Research . . Book .
"What is a Third Culture Kid?" “A third culture kid is a person who has spent a significant part of his
or her developmental years outside their parents’ culture."
"TCKs are the prototype citizens of the future."
-Ted Ward, sociologist, 1984
Famous Third Culture Kid
Barack Obama
is a Multiracial
Third Culture
Kid born in
Honolulu,
Hawaii and
grew up in
Indonesia and
Chicago.
1. Origin of the Term
2. You know you're a TCK
when....
3. What are the different types
of TCKs?
4. What are the characteristics
of TCKs?
5. Definition in Multiple
Languages
(French, Spanish, Mandarin, Spanish,
Korean, Japanese....
6. Spread the Word and
Educate Others
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TCKID: What is a Third Culture Kid? (TCKs)
You know you’re a TCK when ...
- “Where are you from?” has more than one reasonable answer.
- You’ve said that you’re from foreign country X, and (if you live in America) your audience has asked you which US state X is in.
- You flew before you could walk.
- You speak two languages, but can’t spell in either.
- You feel odd being in the ethnic majority.
- You have three passports.
- You have a passport but no driver’s license.
- You go into culture shock upon returning to your “home” country.- Your life story uses the phrase “Then we moved to…” three (or
four, or five…) times.
- You wince when people mispronounce foreign words.
- You don’t know whether to write the date as day/month/year, month/day/year, or some variation thereof.
- The best word for something is the word you learned first, regardless of the language.
- You get confused because US money isn’t colour-coded.
- You think VISA is a document that’s stamped in your passport, not a plastic card you carry in your wallet.
- You own personal appliances with 3 types of plugs, know the difference between 110 and 220 volts, 50 and 60 cycle current, and
realize that a trasnsformer isn’t always enough to make your appliances work.
- You fried a number of appliances during the learning process.
- You think the Pledge of Allegiance might possibly begin with “Four-score and seven years ago….”- Half of your phone calls are
unintelligible to those around you.
- You believe vehemently that football is played with a round, spotted ball.
- You consider a city 500 miles away “very close.”
- You get homesick reading National Geographic.
- You cruise the Internet looking for fonts that can support foreign alphabets.
- You think in the metric system and Celsius.
- You may have learned to think in feet and miles as well, after a few years of living (and driving) in the US. (But not Fahrenheit.
You will *never* learn to think in Fahrenheit).
- You haggle with the checkout clerk for a lower price.
- Your minor is a foreign language you already speak.- When asked a question in a certain language, you’ve absentmindedly
respond in a different one.
- You miss the subtitles when you see the latest movie.
- You’ve gotten out of school because of monsoons, bomb threats, and/or popular demonstrations.
- You speak with authority on the subject of airline travel.
- You have frequent flyer accounts on multiple airlines.
- You constantly want to use said frequent flyer accounts to travel to new places.
- You know how to pack.
- You have the urge to move to a new country every couple of years.
- The thought of sending your (hypothetical) kids to public school scares you, while the thought of letting them fly alone doesn’t at all.
- You think that high school reunions are all but impossible.
- You have friends from 29 different countries.
- You sort your friends by continent.
- You have a time zone map next to your telephone.
- You realize what a small world it is, after all. What is the Origin of term "Third Culture Kid"?
Sociologist Ruth Hill Useem coined the term "Third Culture Kids" after spending a year on two separate
occasions in India with her three children, in the early fifties. Initially they used the term "third culture" to
refer to the process of learning how to relate to another culture; in time they started to refer to children
who accompany their parents into a different culture as "Third Culture Kids." Useem used the term "Third
Culture Kids" because TCKs integrate aspects of their birth culture (the first culture) and the new culture
(the second culture), creating a unique "third culture"
What are the different types of TCKs?
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TCKID: What is a Third Culture Kid? (TCKs)
Military/ARMY BRATS
Military brats, primarily from the United States, are the most mobile of TCKs but generally spend only a few years
abroad, and sometimes none at all. Approximately 41% of military brats spend less than 5 years in foreign
countries. They are the least likely TCKs to develop connections with the locals. Because military bases aim for selfsufficiency, military brats tend to be exposed the least to the local culture. Also, because of the self-sufficiency of military bases and the distinctiveness of military culture, even those military brats who never lived abroad can be
isolated to some degree from the civilian culture of their "home" country.
While parents of military brats had the lowest level of education of the five categories, approximately 36% of USA
military brat TCK families have at least one parent with an advanced degree. This is significantly higher than the
general population.
Non-military government
Nonmilitary government TCKs are the most likely to have extended experiences in foreign countries for extended
periods. 44% have lived in at least four countries. 44% will also have spent at least 10 years outside of their
passport country. Their involvement with locals and others from their passport country depends on the role of the
parent. Some may grow up moving from country to country in the diplomatic corps while others may live their
lives near military bases.
Religious / Missionary Kids
Missionary Kids (MKs) typically spend the most time overseas in one country. 85% of MKs spend more than 10
years in foreign countries and 72% lived in only one foreign country. MKs generally have the most interaction with
the local populace and the least interaction with people from their passport country. They are the most likely to
integrate themselves into the local culture. 83% of missionary kids have at least one parent with an advanced
degree.
Business kids
Business families also spend a great deal of time in foreign countries. 63% of business TCK's have lived in foreign
countries at least 10 years but are more likely than MKs to live in multiple countries. Business TCKs will have a
fairly high interaction with their host nationals and with others from their passport country.
Other
The "Other" category includes anybody who does not fit one the above descriptions. They include:
intergovernmental agencies, educators, international non-governmental organizations, media, etc. This group
typically has spent the least amount of time in foreign countries (42% are abroad for 1-2 years and 70% for less
than 5.) Again their involvement with local people and culture can vary greatly. The parents of "Others" are the
most likely of TCKs to have parents with an advanced degree (89% of families have an advanced degree.)
What are the Characteristics of TCKs?
There are different characteristics that impact the typical Third Culture Kid:
TCKs are 4 times as likely as non-TCKs to earn a bachelor's degree (81% vs 21%)
40% earn an advanced degree (as compared to 5% of the non-TCK population.)
45% of TCKs attended 3 universities before earning a degree.
44% earned undergraduate degree after the age of 22.
Educators, medicine, professional positions, and self employment are the most common professions for TCKs.
TCKs are unlikely to work for big business, government, or follow their parents' career choices. "One won't
find many TCKs in large corporations. Nor are there many in government ... they have not followed in
parental footsteps".
90% feel "out of sync" with their peers.
90% report feeling as if they understand other cultures/peoples better than the average American.
80% believe they can get along with anybody.
Divorce rates among TCKs are lower than the general population, but they marry older (25+).
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TCKID: What is a Third Culture Kid? (TCKs)
Military brats, however, tend to marry earlier.
Linguistically adept (not as true for military ATCKs.)
A study whose subjects were all "career military brats"—those who had a parent in the military from
birth through high school—shows that brats are linguistically adept.
Teenage TCKs are more mature than non-TCKs, but ironically take longer to "grow up" in their 20s.
More welcoming of others into their community.
Lack a sense of "where home is" but often nationalistic.
Depression and suicide are more prominent among TCK's.
Some studies show a desire to "settle down" others a "restlessness to move".
Help Spread the Word
Tell a friend about this page. Educate your friends, family, and co-workers about the TCK experience.
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