“An inconvenience and an outsider”: Stories of repatriation into K-12 and higher education from third culture kids

• In Event: Identity, Belonging, and Marginalization in Educational Spaces

Proposal

Introduction
Third Culture Kids (TCKs) are individuals who spend a significant portion of their childhood years living outside of their parents’ passport countries (Pollock, 2017). While growing up across multiple cultural and educational contexts, their high mobility lifestyles force them to navigate who they are and where they belong, all while balancing several educational transitions. Their narratives and stories reveal their struggles with being perceived as “other” but also highlight unique strengths, including a high level of adaptability and cultural fluency.
This study analyzes narratives from adult third culture kids (ATCKs) repatriating to their passport countries, focusing on their K-12 and higher education experiences. It asks: How do TCK stories of repatriation into K-12 and higher education settings illuminate identity, belonging, and cultural learning?

Framework
This study is guided by two frameworks: Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) (Yosso, 2005) and Transformational Learning Theory (TLT) (Mezirow, 1991; Dewey, 1938). CCW adds to the concept of cultural capital to recognize and celebrate the unique forms of knowledge and resilience that marginalized groups bring to educational spaces. Applying this framework to the experiences of TCKs helps to reframe their upbringing not as a deficit of not belonging anywhere or not enough of one culture, but as rich sources of intercultural capital. TLT complements this by emphasising the importance of reflection and meaning-making as pathways to growth. Education emerges as both a site of exclusion and a catalyst for whole-person development when facilitated correctly.

Methods
This research is part of a larger dissertation project through SIT Graduate Institute, which investigates the experiences of adult TCKs who repatriated to their passport countries. The broader study employed a qualitative design, combining phenomenology and narrative inquiry. Two primary methods of data collection were used: semi-structured interviews and a storytelling exercise, which invited participants to reflect on key moments in their upbringing and repatriation journeys. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling on online platforms such as Facebook and Reddit. While the dissertation draws on both the interviews and stories, this proposal focuses solely on the narrative analysis of the collected stories from 18 participants, thematically analyzed to identify patterns related to identity, belonging, and experiences in educational settings from K-12 through to higher education.

Preliminary Results
Schools emerged as a primary site where TCKs negotiated belonging and identity.

K-12 Experiences After Repatriating
For those who returned “home” during adolescence, repatriation often sharpened feelings of alienation.

Social Disconnect and Bullying
Repatriation often intensified feelings of exclusion as TCKs weren’t always accepted as true “locals” upon returning “home.” P10 was bullied in Taiwan when she returned, told to “get lost,” making her sense of belonging in her home country “somewhat painful.” P17 entered a U.S. public school mid-8th grade, where peers dubbed her “Belgium,” teachers penalized her “British” spelling, and administrators assumed she didn’t speak English. P7 noted her indifference to American high school rituals like dances and sports, which marked her as out of step with her peers.

Assimilation and Masking
Faced with rejection, participants often hid their TCK identities. P9 found that in American public schools, "assimilation seemed to be the only option." She faced "social rejection" when sharing her past, prompting her to adapt by saying "I'm from all over" when asked "where are you from?" This led to a "gradual suppression of self and separation from my lived experiences."

Higher Education Experiences After Repatriating

Challenges of Belonging
Participants frequently described entering college as a second major moment of cultural displacement. P12 struggled with cultural references and jokes during her freshman year in Virginia, making her feel like an outsider. P18 felt like a "child" upon arriving at Texas Tech University from Dubai, contrasting with his peers who "had jobs, cars, paid taxes, and seemed to know exactly what they were doing.” P11’s Irish peers rejected her claim to Irishness, telling her, “You’re not Irish,” which left her feeling “confused and ungrounded.” P3, in his Master's program for Marriage and Family Therapist, found himself operating from a "different epistemology" than his monocultural classmates. He found it difficult to translate his TCK experience for professors who assumed he was "hiding myself to fit in," when in fact he was "translating myself to be seen.”

Successes
At the same time, some TCKs flourished in higher education spaces. P14 found success in academic groups and an improv class after repatriating to California and Washington, feeling a "sense of belonging" in these environments. Her TCK background profoundly motivated her Master's thesis on refugee integration, for which she earned "highest honors.” P16 experienced a successful repatriation, quickly finding a "dream job" in her passport country where she felt she "fit in very quickly," and felt "confident and happy in the school/work setting and like I belong.” P4's move to France, though challenging, allowed her the "biggest success... refinding and rebuilding my confidence in speaking my language.” Her TCK background, driven by curiosity, enabled her to adapt quickly and "strike up a conversation when meeting new people," even as an introvert. P1 found his "willingness to move anywhere" a "huge asset" in his career as a high school teacher, leading to significant career advancement.

Conclusion

Narratives of repatriation into K-12 and higher education highlight the paradoxical role of schools in the lives of TCKs. On one hand, participants encountered alienation, stereotyping, and suppression of identity as they struggled to fit into systems that often erased their complexity. On the other hand, these same experiences generated resilience, intercultural empathy, and skills that became professional and personal assets.

By applying Community Cultural Wealth and Transformational Learning, this study demonstrates how educational institutions can both reproduce division and hold potential for transformation. TCK stories of repatriation ultimately shed light on how identity, belonging, and cultural learning are negotiated and experienced within educational contexts, offering critical lessons for re-examining the role of schools and universities in fostering inclusion for multicultural individuals.

Author

• Kylie Parks, Chapman University