Third Culture Kids and Experiences of Places

Abstract

This chapter explores the dynamics of place as experienced by third culture kids (TCKs) who spend their developmental years in multiple and diverse physical and social contexts. Traditional conceptualizations and assumptions about a singular localized sense of place are not congruent with the changeability ofTCK experi- ences, and so the concept ofsense ofplace is reexamined with TCKs as the focus. Readers are introduced to two research-based case studies on TCKs and their relationships with place. A study from Hong Kong identifies potential differences between TCK and local Hong Kong adolescents in terms of their relationships to nature and place attachment and considers how relocation has influenced TCK sense of place (Urquhart, An exploration into the environmental identities and sense ofplace ofinternationally mobile adolescents. Unpublished master’s thesis. Retrieved from https://viurrspace.ca/handle/10170/880, 2016). A second case study of TCK adolescents in Qatar explores how the “gatedness” of residential contexts can strongly impact TCK experiences ofplace and sense ofplace (Picton, International school students’ experiences oftheir local environment: a case study from Qatar. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Bath, 2016). For TCKs, mobility has the potential to both expand and simultaneously limit engagement and identification with place and nonhuman nature. This chapter calls for the recognition that for TCKs, immediate contexts are intrinsically linked to a diver- sity of places in their past, present, and future. Key aspects of place-based education (PBE) and the potential pedagogical challenges and opportunities are considered within the contexts of international schools. PBE is highlighted as a way to promote relational conceptualizations of place to drive an inclusive and globally minded sense of place for TCKs.