Third Culture Kids Action Research

--
Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership
and Postsecondary Education
University of Northern Iowa
--
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirement for the
Master of Arts in Education
--
by
Erica Barclay, Sridevi Natrajan, Hemali Mehta,
Radha Shivkumar, and Payal Sinha

The American School of Bombay
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
July 1, 2014
--
Dr. Tammy Gregersen


TCK Action Research



Topic
We know that ASB has a wonderful entry process for parents and students. We have parent
ambassadors, student buddies, orientation day for new students and parents, technology training
for older kids, parent reception for the whole community, and meet the board night. We also
have a solid process for exiting teachers to ensure that they are appreciated and successful when
they leave and go on to other schools. Leaving teachers are provided a counseling session with
the principal, exiting teacher workshops, technology support to transfer important documents and
emails, and a farewell party with appreciation gifts. While there are certain components in place
to help students who are leaving school, there is no consistent procedure in place across all grade
levels to ensure a smooth transition to wherever they are going in their future endeavors.
Therefore, we feel it is worthwhile to pursue a proposal for putting in place a standard/consistent
procedure so all students can be successful after they leave.
TCK Text Connections
TCKs are individuals growing up in a culturally diverse world. While on the one hand their lives
are rich and abound in multicultural experiences, their mobility present challenges of other kinds.
Mobility brings with it physical moves from one place to another. TCKs undergo chronic cycles
of mobility. Due to the frequency of their moves, each transition changes something in their
lives. With every transition, there is loss even when there is ultimate gain. TCKs have to
leave people, places, good stages of life, and things they have enjoyed and loved. They lose their
normal support system. This is hard. Repeated cycles of mobility can lead to repetitive losses
and the grief that is associated with it. Connected to the grief cycle, author David Pollock
developed a model of normal transition in the early 80s. He noted five predictable stages of
transition: involvement, leaving, transition, entering, and re-involvement (p. 66) that everyone
goes through. TCks are frequently running through these stages and sometimes do not even get a
chance to complete the stages before they are informed of another move and the cycle begins
again.
Leaving right is a key to entering right (p. 181). In order to do so, imagine building a raft.
Reconciliation - addressing unresolved problems, reconciling broken relationships help children
from getting rid of festering wounds.
Affirmation - identifying special friends, significant adults in the school and the community,
acknowledging family members like grandparents etc are important to children as it affirms and
strengthens relationships.
Farewells - farewells bring closure when children are moving from one location to another
without feeling a sense of unfinished business.
Think Destination - sharing pictures of the new school, pictures of the new home, maps, making
contact with other families and their children studying in the same school can create a sense of
familiarity with the new location for TCKs.
Objectives
All stakeholders in the ASB community want to work towards building a strong foundation to
help families deal with the entire process of transition. Building a RAFT will alleviate the
process and facilitate a healthy closure.
Hypothesis
We believe that putting in place a consistent procedure of transition for all students across all
grade levels will ensure that students are set up for success in their new school.
Method
We will send a series of surveys to current ASB students and parents, asking them about the
transition process at their previous school prior to coming to ASB as well as send surveys to
families who have recently left ASB asking about our transition process. We will gather
information about the processes and their opinions of how effective (or not) they were.
Research
Using surveys and questionnaires to elicit responses regarding the transition process, we reached
out to students and parents (present at ASB and families who had recently left). In addition, we
also questioned our divisional counselors.
Questions for the parent survey:
1. Did your childs previous school have a process in place for a smooth transition in order to
ensure a successful transition?
2. Tell us about the process. What was it like?
3. What was missing?
4. What do you propose we put in place at ASB for our leaving students?
Summary of the parent survey results
Transition process at other schools involved signing exit documents for release of transcripts and
recommendation. The process was very business like. Some parents shared that the advisory of
the student coordinated all the documentation work and there was one response saying that
getting introduced to teachers at the new school helped the student.

Information gathered from ex ASB parents reported that while coming to the school there was a
buddy system in place to make their child feel comfortable and a counselor meeting. Upon
leaving, parents noted the older students had videos created to honor those departing and the
videos were shared with others. In the elementary, a counselor came into classrooms to do a
leaver ceremony and there were events such as peers signing on a t-shirt for students to take
with them.

Parents also expressed that they did feel some things were missing from the process. They
would have appreciated counseling sessions for to help with their childs mental preparedness in
the move. They did not feel like anyone checked in with their child or kept in touch through the
transition period and that support would have been helpful to have.

Some suggestions made by parents were: During the transition process children and families
should have single point coordinators. They expressed a desire for alumni information - contacts
and knowledge of alumni in the area to which they were moving. They really liked the videos
created and leaver ceremonies and thought they should stay and perhaps be extended to all
divisions. Parent thought that a send off party in Advisory or home rooms would be nice along
with a memento such as a bag with the schools logo. Some parents expressed a desire for the
exit procedure to be even simpler (we can only assume they mean from the business/paperwork
aspect of the transition) while others appreciated the detailed information they received about the
process. A few parents felt more counselor-student time would be helpful. One parent thought
the current school should review the new schools curriculum and help the students select
courses.
Survey results from alumni parents (The same questions as those for current ASB parents
were used but we asked parents to think specifically of ASB when responding.)
We categorized the responses into three areas (helpful, somewhat helpful, not helpful) and found
that nobody said the transition experience was helpful. People felt it was somewhat helpful in
most cases but every parent had a different experience. Many parents also said that the transition
was not handled smoothly.
Questions for the student survey:
1. Did your previous school have a process in place for a smooth exit in order to ensure a
successful transition?
2. Tell us about the process. What was it like?
3. What was missing?
4. What do you propose we put in place for ASB?
Summary of the student survey results
We surveyed students who had transitioned into ASB from another school - fifty percent of the
students surveyed felt they had successful experiences during transitions. The other fifty did not
have positive experiences - they felt there was nothing done to support a students transition to a
new school. Students would like the transition process to include goodbye events, assemblies,
and sessions with counselors to discuss hopes and fears, recognition ceremonies, memory books
and other such events to give them a good closure.

Information we gathered from ASB counselors
ASB counselors were contacted via email regarding the current transition process in place at
ASB.
Questions asked were:
1. What strategies are in place to make transitions smooth for our exiting students?
2.What are some other strategies that might be more effective in other school?
3.Do you meet students personally to prepare them for change?
Our counselors had this to say:
Elementary School
This counselor shared that she maintains a very reguarly updated website
(http://escounselor.weebly.com/coping-with-change.html). She made a presentation about
transitions at our parent cafe (a regular meeting of parents and various components of the
school). She stated, I dont know of anything more effective from other international schools.
I did similar at my last school guidance units on transition, teaching about change and coping
with it, 1:1 check-in with all departing students, leaving circles, etc. I did not do the transition
luncheons that Im doing here I think students like those a lot (grades 1-5). For EC3-K I do
less, but I think they are less impacted by the change as they are still more attached to family
unit.

Middle School
I will be meeting with students in small groups to discuss their transition. For those students
who are struggling, I arrange one to one meetings and sometimes meetings with the entire
family. All of our departing students are celebrated during Advisory and are also acknowledged
at the goodbye assembly. There is also a video made by the SLT (student leadership team)
documenting special moments throughout the year.

High School
When students transition mid-year, we work with the students and their family to ensure that
they are leaving on a solid academic base. Because so many schools are small, often times their
schedules do not match up properly (as other schools may not be offering the same courses).
Usually the guidance department or the IB Coordinators are in touch to ensure that students are
placed in the appropriate classes upon arrival. I am not certain what other schools do. I have met
with students are who are transitioning out to ensure that paperwork and coursework are at a
place where they can transition into their other school efficiently. However, I would say that
considerable amount of time is spent on students transitioning into our school than out of our
school. This would be typical in the sense that you would want to make to ensure that you are
providing as smooth a start as possible.

This document contains all the hard data from the surveys we sent.
https://docs.google.com/a/asbindia.org/document/d/1ha9NTIm3QVtsvs0CY2l0hdMD_FVRWoP
lkzAc-rvBhDw/edit

Conclusions
Student mobility is a defining characteristic of most international schools. It is not uncommon
for 30% of any given student population to turn over every year. While faculty and staff
mobility may be less extensive, regular turn-over there too is common. What does this mean for
an international school like ASB?
More and more international schools are accepting responsibility for facilitating student
transitions into and out of the school community. Parents are beginning to expect it.
Administrators, teachers, and counselors are recognizing it as intrinsic to an international
school's educational mandate. Indeed, some schools, recognizing that student adjustment
depends on family adjustment, are also addressing parents' transition support needs.

Consider the impact on a learning environment when on average one third of the population is in
the midst of pre-departure anxiety, another third wound-up in post-arrival uncertainty, and the
final third busy trying to keep it all sorted out. It quickly becomes clear that addressing
transitions is an international school imperative!



We would like to suggest the following protocols to address and support the children who are
leaving ASB:

1) Transition Resource Team:
Consisting of a small number (710) of committed teachers, administrators, and counselors,
parents and student. The teams helps develop in-house expertise, provide an ongoing resource
throughout the school year to students, faculty and staff alike, and serve as liaison to any
transition work being conducted for families through the schools' parent associations. Transition
resource team members work with teachers in the classroom and with counselors school-wide to
encourage and support transition activities.

2) Alumni support:
Use the alumni network to see if there are any ASB families in the next city and/or school to
offer support.

3) Language support:
If the move is to an international country that has educational instruction in another language
then language support would be given.

4) Parent Transition team:
This team will offer support to families on how to deal with the entire transition process so they
can work proactively with their children in navigating the complexities of a move and regarding
their losses, which are inherent in any transitional experience.

5) Farewell team:
Will organize farewells where students have a chance to say goodbye to their friends, teachers,
and other members of the community. They will identify and acknowledge people who have
been an integral part of their stay at school. Thus allowing students to rejoice and mourn their
friends leaving. Taking the time for rites of passage gives us markers for remembering
meaningful places and people and directly addressing the fact that we are saying farewell. (pg.
184)

6) Social media connection
The school can ensure that once students have left the school they can still stay remain connected
with their friends on a social media site designed by the school which is safe and secure
(specifically those under 13 and not yet legally able to use Facebook or Twitter).

At ASB we propose the following transition steps:

STEP 1: Parents inform the admissions office they are leaving - As soon as the admission office
gets notified. A typical withdrawal packet with all necessary forms/documents is given including
two articles, Leaving Well: 10 Tips for Repatriating with Dignity and Why Expats Hate June
and the TCK book in hard form.

STEP 2: Once the forms and documents are submitted, the concerned teachers and the Transition
Resource Team are then notified (the office will specify if this move is known to the children or
not).

STEP 3: Once children are aware of the move - admissions office notifies the transition resource
team who then approach the appropriate counselor for them to begin transition counseling - in
ES teachers prepare memory/autograph books and give to students to gather
signatures/numbers/email and in MS HS students are given the books directly and ensure that
teachers and friends have the appropriate opportunity to say farewell (hugs, photos, goodbyes).

STEP 4: Parents are given immediate connection to ASB alumni network for families
specifically highlighting contacts (if any) in the country/school to which the family is relocating.
The Parent Transition team gets notified as well and extends the needed support to the family.

STEP 5: The Farewell Team needs to ensure that the students and the family have had
opportunities to day goodbye and the students have been farewelled properly.

The impact of our childhood experiences shape us as adults and helps us in understanding who
we are and where we belong. If our students (who are TCKs and CCKs), experiences have been
positive, an awareness has been inculcated, interventions and support have been given from the
home and school environments, then we help them develop better strategies to deal with
transitions and they end up having enriching life experiences. Schools everywhere are making
changes to their curriculum and approaches to teaching that will help students from any country
fit back into their school system. The key to making a successful transition is preparation,
intervention, and care. As an education institution whose mission is to serve the needs of our
students, we aim to fulfill those needs by ensuring we do everything in our capacity so that
students feel cherished and valued and their departure is made as special as their arrival. This
would help TCKs become more confident and increase their ability to navigate through the
various social systems more easily, knowing they can still keep in touch with their friends and
family they have left behind. Parents also have a responsibility in this teamwork and should be
focused on their childrens emotional need and be supportive at a difficult time of their lives.



References

Jones, J. (May 22, 2014). The Culture Blog - Leaving Well: 10 Tips for Repatriating with
Dignity. Retrieved from http://www.thecultureblend.com/?p=1383

Jones, J. (June 22, 2012). The Culture Blog: Why Expats Hate June. Retrieved from
http://www.thecultureblend.com/?p=11


Pollock, D. C. & VanReken, R.E. (2009). Third Culture Kids: Growing Up

Among Worlds. Nicholas Brealey Publishing: Boston, MA. ISBN: 978-1-85788-525-5