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Third Culture Kids Negotiating Identities in an International School in Thailand by © Farrah Chantal Collette

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Third Culture Kids Negotiating Identities in an International School in Thailand by © Farrah Chantal Collette Third Culture Kids Negotiating Identities in an International School in Thailand by © Farrah Chantal Collette A Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education: Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Studies Department of Education Memorial University of Newfoundland June 2019 St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador Abstract The following Master's thesis discusses research on cultural identity negotiation of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) attending an international school in Bangkok, Thailand. Postcolonial theory, primarily Said’s (1978; 1994) theory of Orientalism, and Bourdieu’s (1993; 2003) theories of symbolic capital, symbolic power, and fields of cultural production are central to this study. The ethnographic approach of this research focuses on eight TCK participants, who have at least one non-Western primary culture of home, and who negotiate dominant local and globalized cultures of the school into their identity. Highlights on primary and secondary cultural identities, and the varying symbolic capital that discourses of different cultures offer are provided through the focus on the relationship between marginalized and hegemonic cultures present in the international school setting. The research aims to further an understanding of more socially just cultural and educational frames of curricular education in international schools. Keywords: Third Culture Kids (TCKs), Cultural Identity Negotiation, Orientalism, Symbolic Capital, Symbolic Power, Western Cultural Hegemony ii Acknowledgements I would first like to thank Karla, June, Aida, Salem, Ronnie, Alyssa, Petrie, and Lisa: without your willingness to participate, this study would not have been possible. Your stories are encouraging, and how you balance the many worlds to which you belong is truly inspirational. Thank you, Dr. Elizabeth Yeoman, who not only helped my craft of this final product, but who also gave me a model of what true academic mentorship through meaningful feedback looks like. I would like to be able to help my own students find the same motivation and encouragement that you have provided me through this process. Tyson, my dear husband, and partner-in-crime: thank you for being a constant baseline to my endurance, you remind me that my passion for this research is worthwhile, needed, and important in my field. It is such a joy to do meaningful work with you side-by-side. Thank you for being a true example of selfless humility and of endless talent. Thank you to my grandparents, Ron and Kay Morehouse. Grampy: you lived a life of service, and I can only hope that I can follow the example you have so graciously left all who had the opportunity to know you. Nanny: thank you for being my life coach and my mentor, and for showing me how to insist on perseverance. Thank you for filling my heart with your love and pride for what I do. iii Mother, you taught me to think deeply, and that being confined to norms doesn’t have to be my reality. You inspire so many people with the power of your story. You are talented and powerful. To my trailblazer of a sister, you have taught me how to take risks, how to be resilient, and how to rise from the ashes. Thank you for being a model for how to maintain hope and how to fight for the belief that from life’s challenges there is growth. Thank you for teaching me that the belief in empowerment is more than just a pipe dream. Lastly, to my students: I do this for you. You teach me every day that it's all worth it. Thank you. iv Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. iii Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................1 1.1 TCK Terminology and Considerations ..................................................1 1.2 Researcher Personal Narrative ...............................................................8 1.2.1 Formative Relationships and Experiences ..............................9 1.2.2 Belonging: Personal Primary and Secondary Discourse ......12 1.2.3 Reciprocal Empowerment Teaching in Baltimore ................19 1.2.4 Teaching in Cameroon and Thailand ....................................22 1.3 Chapter Summary ................................................................................26 Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................27 2.1 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................29 2.1.1 Cultural and Linguistic Capital .............................................34 2.1.2 Primary and Secondary Discourses ......................................38 2.1.3 Dominant Discourse ..............................................................42 2.1.4 Marginalized Discourse ........................................................45 2.2 Literacy ................................................................................................47 2.3 Third Culture Kids (TCKs) .................................................................68 2.4 Educational Practice .............................................................................77 2.4.1 Counterproductive Culturally Utopian Ideals .......................82 2.4.2 Cultural Identity Empowerment ...........................................84 2.5 Review of Other Related Studies .........................................................87 2.5.1 Ethnography of ESLs/ELLs and Students of Immigrant Status .......87 2.5.2 Ethnographies of Asian international school students ......................88 2.5.3 Ethnography of Dual-Language International School ......................95 2.5.4 Ethnography of Third Culture Kids ..................................................99 2.6 Chapter Summary ..............................................................................103 Chapter 3: Research Methodology ...................................................................107 3.1 Ethnographic Approach Rationale .....................................................108 3.2 Methodology Overview .....................................................................109 3.2.1 Description of Research Site and Selection ........................110 3.2.2 Description of Research Participants and Selection ...........115 3.2.3 Methodological Issues ........................................................119 3.2.4 Data Collection Procedure: Stage One ...............................122 3.2.5 Data Collection Procedure: Stage Two ...............................126 3.2.6 Data Collection Procedure: Stage Three .............................132 3.2.7 Description of Data Analysis ..............................................136 3.2.8 Credibility of Knowledge Claims .......................................140 3.2.9 Transferability and Dependability ......................................141 3.3 Chapter Summary ..............................................................................142 v Chapter 4: Findings ...........................................................................................146 4.1 Participants .........................................................................................146 4.2 Coding ................................................................................................148 4.3 TCKs and the Role of Community ....................................................150 4.3.1 Community Belonging and Interaction with Peers .............164 4.3.2 Community and Teacher-Student Rapport .........................172 4.3.3 Teacher-Student Rapport Through Humour .......................178 4.4 Acceptance and Understanding of Culturally Negotiated Identity ....187 4.5 Cultural Stereotyping Deters from Cultural Understanding ..............204 4.6 Cultural Hybridity ..............................................................................212 4.7 Language and Translation and the Power of Bilinguality .................225 4.8 Navigating Culture through Norms and Traditions ...........................243 4.9 Chapter Summary ..............................................................................252 Chapter 5: Final Suggestions and Call for Future Research ........................ 259 5.1 Cultural Framework and Curriculum of International Schools .........260 5.1.2 Significance of Hidden Curriculum ....................................280 5.1.3 English Language and Anglophone Phonology ..................294 5.1.4 Descriptive Semantics for TCKs ........................................300 5.1.5 Terminology of TCK ..........................................................302 5.2 Professional Development in Intercultural Competency ...................304 5.3 Chapter Summary ..............................................................................306 Chapter 6: Conclusion .......................................................................................308 6.1 Research Summary ............................................................................308 6.2 Validity of Claims ..............................................................................310 6.3 Limitations .........................................................................................321 6.4 Findings Summary .............................................................................325 6.5 Recommendations ..............................................................................329
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