Exploration of Themes Evolving from the Experiences of Third
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Cardinal Scholar EXPLORATION OF THEMES EVOLVING FROM THE EXPERIENCES OF THIRD CULTURE KIDS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY ELIZABETH D. SELLERS DISSERTATION ADVISOR: DR. CHARLENE ALEXANDER BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA JULY 2011 Acknowledgements This project would not have been possible without the many people who have been involved. Thank you for your help, support, and encouragement. Dr. Alexander, my advisor and committee chairperson, thank you for your guidance and support in this project. I am very grateful for your commitment to helping me finish to the best of my ability. To the rest of my committee, Dr. Stef, Dr. Dixon, and Dr. Mucherah, thank you for pushing me to do better and to become a better researcher. You all have challenged me and encouraged me to not settle and to think objectively. I am grateful for your support and efforts with this project. To Dr. Bowman, although not on my committee, thank you for your encouragement and support throughout the program. I appreciate your dedication to my growth and success. I want to especially thank the participants of this study for your willingness to participate. I have learned so much from you and am honored that you took the time to share your stories. I cannot thank you enough for your dedication to this project and your honesty in opening up and sharing your lives. A big thank you to my research team. Jill, words cannot express my gratitude to you for taking time to be involved in this project and interview all the participants. I greatly appreciate your focus, dedication, flexibility, and willingness to make the data collection as smooth and helpful as possible. Abby, Holly, Erica, Kathleen, Amy, and Melissa, thank you for your time spent immersing yourselves in the data and listening carefully to the voices of the participants as you read each word that was said. Abby and Holly, and extra thank you to both of you for taking time away from your studies to assist i in checking the results of the data to ensure that I did not miss the voices of my participants. To all of my friends who have encouraged me and helped me through this project, thank you. Without all of you I could not be where I am today. Your love, support, encouragement, and willingness to jump in when I needed you will never be forgotten. I would also like to extend a special thank you to Sherry, Brenda, Paul, and Jamie for reading through drafts and providing me with valuable feedback to improve this study. Adrian, thank you for jumping in and ensuring that I was well-stocked on sugar. I truly appreciate your kind heart and generosity in my life. Amy, thank you for listening to me and helping me to clarify the next steps of my project. I am so grateful to have you as a friend and appreciate your care for me during this project. To my family, I can never say thank you enough. You have been there for me every step of the way and without your support, encouragement, and kindness, I would never have been able to complete this project. Thank you for being my strength and voice of reason when I had none. Thank you for supporting my dreams and pushing me to grow. Mom and Dad, thank you for your willingness to listen to me even when it sounded like a foreign language. I am so grateful to both of you for being involved in my life and helping me to be the person that I am today. Thank you for sticking by me through all of life‟s challenges. Breanna, I am so lucky to have you as my sister. Thank you for you encouragement and for making me laugh. I am so thankful for your support through all the years. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. i List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Appendices ........................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Issues in the Lives of TCKs ............................................................................................ 3 Change. ........................................................................................................................ 3 Relationships. .............................................................................................................. 4 Worldview. .................................................................................................................. 4 Cultural orientation. ..................................................................................................... 4 Reentry......................................................................................................................... 5 Sense of home. ............................................................................................................. 6 Coping with mobility. .................................................................................................. 6 Identity development. .................................................................................................. 7 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................ 8 Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................................... 9 Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 9 Glossary of Terms ......................................................................................................... 10 Limitations of the Study ................................................................................................ 10 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 12 Mobility and Change ..................................................................................................... 15 Rootlessness and restlessness. ................................................................................... 16 Loss and grief. ........................................................................................................... 17 Belonging ...................................................................................................................... 20 Academic and Career Factors ....................................................................................... 21 Reentry .......................................................................................................................... 22 Age............................................................................................................................. 23 Relationships. ............................................................................................................ 24 Identity Formation ......................................................................................................... 24 iii Cultural influence on identity. ................................................................................... 26 Multiracial identity. ................................................................................................... 28 Ethnic/Cultural identity. ............................................................................................ 30 Appropriateness of Methods ......................................................................................... 31 Chapter 3: Method ............................................................................................................ 33 Overview of Methodology ............................................................................................ 33 Participants .................................................................................................................... 34 Participant selection procedure. ................................................................................. 35 Procedure ....................................................................................................................... 36 Identifying and training of research team. ................................................................. 36 The interview. ............................................................................................................ 37 Transcription of interviews. ....................................................................................... 39 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 40 Qualitative analysis.................................................................................................... 40 Quality Control .............................................................................................................. 44 Credibility. ................................................................................................................. 44 Transferability. .........................................................................................................