Lessons From Our Kissing Cousins: Third Culture Kids and Gifted Children

摘要

This article describes characteristics shared by “third culture kids” (TCKs) and gifted children and summarizes lessons to be learned from the two communities. Some of the lessons are from TCKs themselves; the article includes quotes from students the author has taught in recent years. Pedagogical lessons for raising the global awareness of gifted children include focusing on the invisible curriculum rather than the written curriculum, fostering genuine interactions between gifted children and children from other cultures, and encouraging gifted high-school children to seek study-abroad experiences. The article highlights four study-abroad programs suitable for gifted high-school students. Research lessons include adopting research methods used by TCK researchers and by American Field Service researchers.