Mireka Caselius’s research while affiliated with University of Vaasa and other places

An increasing number of studies have been conducted on children with early life international mobility, that is, on third culture kids (TCKs). In this chapter, we review how TCKs appear in the existing research through the TCKs’ migration journey. We include TCK research that is reported within different disciplines to form a wide perspective on the experiences of this population. We cover different stages of the mobility from pre-departure preparation to cross-cultural adjustment, and further on to the repatriation stage. Finally, we discuss the longer-term challenges and benefits of being an adult third culture kid (ATCK). The review indicates that the time spent abroad has a significant impact on the ATCK’s worldview, education decisions, identity, and future career. It thus highlights the importance of supporting TCKs in the different stages of mobility, despite such practices often still seeming to be overlooked. As an outcome of the review, a future research agenda is suggested to help improve our understanding of TCKs’ international experiences, and the long-term impacts they have on the later life and career of ATCKs. As an implication, it is raised that TCKs offer an attractive pool of employees for companies looking for staff with international competencies.

Purpose The purpose of the present study is to explore the effects of early life international exposure on the career capital (CC) of adult third culture kids (ATCKs). Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative research design based on 34 semi-structured interviews with ATCKs who have had international exposure in their childhood as members of an expatriate family. Findings The results show that a globally mobile childhood has extensive long-term impacts on ATCKs' CC in the areas of knowing-why, knowing-how and knowing-whom. Additionally, their early international experience also had several negative impacts across these aspects of CC. Originality/value This paper provides a novel understanding of the long-term impacts of early life international exposure on ATCKs' CC, and this paper is the first study to use the CC framework among an ATCK population.

Purpose This paper looks to study how adult third culture kids (ATCKs) perceive that their childhood international experience is linked to their career interests and choices in later adult life. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study is based on 34 semi-structured interviews analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The authors adopted social cognitive career theory as a theoretical framework for the work. Findings The findings indicate that regardless of the ATCKs field of expertise, their international childhood links to various international exposures and work experiences already in their early career. ATCK background can also be interpreted as an essential facet that promotes significant interest towards international roles, work tasks and careers because they are familiar with a globally mobile lifestyle. A global childhood was represented as a phenomenon that fosters stress tolerance, and ATCKs' unique international capabilities were perceived as an advantage for employment. The authors also found that they tended to set high goals for themselves in terms of education and career, in order to pursue high-end international positions. Practical implications ATCKs' value interpretations of their strengths, skills and knowledge highly relate to working in an international setup. When applying for jobs, ATCKs could find it beneficial to highlight their early international experiences and explain why this is valuable experience for organizations that are seeking highly educated, globally competent, and flexible employees. Also, information about ATCKs could be included in international business course curricula, in order to foster an increased recognition of the value and benefits of hiring individuals with a TCK background. Originality/value This paper is the first qualitative study which empirically examines ATCKs' longer term career interests and career decisions among individuals with adult work experience. This study contributes to the knowledge about how early life international experiences are interpreted in the context of work-life decisions from a social cognitive perspective.