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Special Joint FIGT Research Network Event with Counseling & Coaching Affiliate

  • 04 Dec 2020
  • 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
  • Online (via Zoom or livestream on YouTube)

Third Culture Kids & Parachute Kids: Building Their Resilience

Date: Friday, December 4, 2020

Time: 90 minutes. 9am EST (New York) / 2pm GMT (Accra) / 3pm CET (Berlin) / 10pm SGT, AWST (Singapore & Perth)

Location: Online (via Zoom or livestream on YouTube)

Cost: FREE. Open to all. 


In recent years, research has proven true what the old adage knew all along, that “it takes a village to raise a child.” It goes without saying that parents are important figures in a child’s life. But there is now more recognition of the importance of helping children build relationships with other adults and peers to ensure their development and resilience. Yet, little is understood about how these principles apply to internationally-mobile children and families.

How can parents, schools and counselors support internationally-mobile children when their only constant is the nuclear family? What kind of issues do children face when they are sent away to attend boarding schools or to live with a host family because the child’s educational needs conflict with the timing of their parents’ relocation? How can we affirm a child’s identity when school culture or the language they speak at school is different from home? These are some of the questions we will explore with our two guest experts, Dr. Timothy Stuart and Dr. Jang Cho.

Dr. Tim Stuart brings his 25 years of experience as an international and cross-cultural educator to offer new perspectives on improving the support international schools provide for their transient students. Tim will also draw on his expertise from his doctoral research, published as Children At Promise. Through his research of a First Nation reservation in the United States, Tim discovered that some factors help children remain resilient in the face of trauma and has applied these findings to children who grow up internationally. Having grown up in France, Germany and the US as a mixed-race child himself, Tim’s knowledge and passion is informed with deep empathy for those who identify as Third Culture Kids.

As one of the few experts in the United States in cross cultural psychiatry, Dr. Jang Cho brings a fresh perspective on the experience of childhood mobility. She will help expand our understanding of the diverse ways in which children can experience mobility and the third culture, such as seen in the growing population of “parachute kids” who are sent away from home to another country for education. Born and raised in South Korea, Jang moved to the US at age 14 to attend a boarding school. Her own experience as a “parachute child” developed Jang’s keen interest in helping Asian parents and their children cultivate stronger bonds by bridging the cultural, generational and language gap.

This special event will be co-hosted by Dr. Danau Tanu, anthropologist and Co-Chair of the FIGT Research Network Affiliate, and Sundae Bean, intercultural strategist and member of the FIGT Counseling and Coaching Affiliate, who will facilitate this interactive conversation with our guests.

Timothy S. Stuart, Ed.D, is the Head of School at the International Community School of Addis Ababa and former Executive Director of Strategic Programs at the Singapore American School. He serves as the chief architect for research and development and supports strategic school reform. Tim has been an international and cross-cultural educator for 25 years serving schools in Turkey, Switzerland, Indonesia (High School Principal of Jakarta International School), Singapore (High School Principal of Singapore American School) and on a Navajo reservation in the United States. His passion to support internationally-mobile children led Tim to co-author Children At Promise and Raising Children At Promise. He is also a co-author, editor and contributing author of multiple other books.

Jang Eun Cho, MD, is a board-certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist in the US with expertise in both psychopharmacology and psychotherapy and Director of the Consortium at Center for Cross Cultural Student Emotional Wellness, which is partner to the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and affiliated to Harvard Medical School. As a bilingual and bi-cultural psychiatrist, she formerly headed Hope Clinic, a free mental health clinic for under-served Korean Americans, and now runs her own telepsychiatry practice, Cultivate Psychiatry. Jang is also founder and co-chair for the Asian Caucus in the American Academy of Child Psychiatry and is involved in various advocacy work for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in the US.

Sundae Bean is a solution-oriented coach and intercultural strategist who specializes in minimizing time to adapt and maximizing satisfaction and success abroad. Sundae helps individuals adapt as quickly (and painlessly!) as possible to the ever-changing circumstances of international life. Her expertise is sought out by clients ranging from European multi-national organizations to international NGOs, from West and East African country directors to seasoned expat spouses. Sundae helps individuals and organizations expedite success, create meaningful connections (abroad and at home), and cherish the experience. Her podcast Expat Happy Hour has been rated No. 1 episode in Places and Travel on iTunes. She is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, the founder of Expat Coach Coalition and leader of the Facebook community Expats on Purpose.

Danau Tanu, PhD, is author of Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School, the first book on structural racism in international schools. She is an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Australia and a Visiting Research Fellow at Waseda University, Japan. Danau has published anthropological studies on Third Culture Kids and mixed-race identities and is a contributing author to Writing Out of Limbo: International Childhoods, Global Nomads and Third Culture Kids and Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds. She is Co-Chair of the FIGT Research Network and Co-Founder of TCKs of Asia and Third Culture Stories podcast.

Due to huge demand, there is now an option to livestream this event. 

Please use this link to view

You can post comments & questions in the YouTube chatroom. If you have already registered and prefer to join via Zoom, please arrive early. If you have trouble joining via Zoom on the day, please use the alternative option and join this event via YouTube.

Also, check out the FIGT Online Bookstore for resources on Third Culture Kids, including books by Dr. Tim Stuart and Dr. Danau Tanu. Purchasing through the FIGT Online Bookstore supports our David C. Pollock Scholarship at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, FIGT earns a small commission from qualifying purchases. You can also find a discount coupon at our Online Bookstore to get 25% off on pre-orders of Growing Up in Transit.


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