Third Culture Kids: The consequences of multiculturalism and nomadism in the context of identity, well-being and education

Abstract

In a globalizing world, increasing migration tendencies lead to broad social consequences. More and more young people can be defined as Third Culture Kids (TCK), individuals exposed to diverse cultural paradigms in the early developmental years. Being a TCK significantly affects the development of identity, well-being and overall functioning. There are also substantial consequences of TCKs experiences in the field of education. Yet, the problem of new forms of multicultural identities is not sufficiently represented within Polish research. The following review aims to fill this gap and present the latest trends in studies on the TCK phenomenon. This article critically evaluated existing research regarding Third Culture Kids. It further presented the consequences of the multicultural experience of TCK, emphasizing significant problems and benefits of multiculturalism and global nomadism in the areas of well-being, identity and education. Importantly, ways of dealing with multicultural identity, the so-called multicultural identity configurations, were presented as moderators of the influence of multiculturalism on the functioning of TCK. Factors supporting TCKs well-being and educational success were indicated, including psychological (multicultural identity integration, cultural intelligence, global mindset) and institutional (teaching systems, psychological support) attributes.