A Cross-Cultural Kid ( CCK) is a person who has lived in—or meaningfully interacted with—two or more cultural environments for a significant period of time during developmental years.” Ruth Van Reken
Cross-Cultural Kids (CCKs) Model
This group includes:
- Traditional TCKs –Children who move into another culture with parents due to a parent’s career choice
- Bi/multi-cultural/ and/or bi/multi-racial children —Children born to parents from at least two cultures or races
- Children of immigrants —Children whose parents have made a permanent move to a new country where they were not originally citizens
- Children of refugees —Children whose parents are living outside their original country or place due to unchosen circumstances such as war, violence, famine, other natural disasters
- Children of minorities —Children whose parents are from a racial or ethnic group which is not part of the majority race or ethnicity of the country in which they live.
- International adoptees —Children adopted by parents from another country other than the one of that child’s birth
- “Domestic” TCKs —Children whose parents have moved in or among various subcultures within that child’s home country.
- Special note: Children are often in more than one of these circles at the same time. (e.g. A traditional TCK who is also from a minority group; a child of immigrants whose parents are from two different cultures, etc.) This helps us understand the growing complexity of the issues we face in our changing world.
[Note: See VanReken’s site for analysis and ideas demonstrating the current importance and value of Cross Cultural Kids in the 21st Century. KFR]