TCK Beyond the Anglosphere: a Case Study in a Rabat International School

Abstract

Third Culture Kids are a group raised in multiple cultures, whose common worldview as a result of repeated cultural change becomes a “Third Culture” in and of itself. Third culture is frequently characterized as an example of heterogeneous people forming a single “tribe” (Pollock and Van Reken 2009; Tanu 2013; Facilionce 2013). International Schools in Morocco are particularly heterogeneous, because not only do many students come from many places, and speak many languages, but also these schools contain many local students, who may not share their classmate’s mobility. Two classes are issued surveys at one international school in Rabat to pilot assessment methods for dissonances in self-classified identities across expatriate experience. The speaking of French or Arabic in addition to English is found to be loosely correlated with better adjustment to Rabat, and a more singular identity, respectively. This result may be due to French and Arabic granting better access to Moroccan culture than English alone. It may also be due to local students, who speak Arabic and French, self-reporting well-adjusted identities despite attending an English-language school. More research is required before asserting universality or causality.