Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
A Research Paper
Quezon City
In Partial Fulfillment
SOCIOLOGY 1
And
September, 2009
CHAPTER I
INRODUCTION
As people decide to live and work abroad, it may seems that they make
decisions for themselves. In reality, most expatriates make decisions with their family’s
welfare in mind. It is really true for expats who bring their children with them as they
move from one place to another. They will not be the only ones who have to adapt to a
foreign country and to a new culture, but also their kids and spouses will have to do the
same even expats who do not have children will still have to consider how their future
kids would adapt. Children of expatriates find themselves in an environment where their
peers consider them strange because of their ethnicity. Children who have already
friendships back home may find making new friends difficult that may cause of
experiencing difficulties such like they would encounter difficulties in with a new
educational system. A lot of expatriate kids do poorly in their first year of school in a
new country. The environment is also a problem by adapting the cooler or hotter
differently. Adults may adapt cultural and ethnic easier than kids do. Since adults are
more mature, they can easily understand the origin of cultural and ethnic differences
that kids may find it harder to do so. Parents sometimes forget that kids are not mini-
important for an expat parents to pay close attention to how their kids are adapting.
This study will determine the problems faced by expatriate parents to their growing
children at a certain place where they newly reside. Thus, it will seek to answer the ff:
1. What are the problems faced by expatriate parents to their growing children as
2. What ways should be done by these parents to help their children in adjusting to
a new environment?
This study will be limited on the expatriate parents which has problems regarding
the adjustments of their growing children in a new place where they decide to live. This
study is mainly focused to the expat children about the challenges in facing a new
cultural environment. This expat children are also the respondents of the study y which
The theories which will guide the researchers in forming this research are:
figure 1.
This study is primarily anchored on the theory of Ellen van Bochaute which will
Conceptual Framework
Including the theories in this study, the researchers came up with a Conceptual
The diagram illustrates the variables showing the problems unto adjustments of
encounter. Under the cultural are the problems which they can faced while the other
aspect may show the effects of their living in a new place through implications by which
Problems Faced by
Expatriates to their
Children
Assumptions
1. There are common problems faced by expatriates to their children.
Hypothesis
shock and the problems of expatriates to their children are related due to the
Definition of Terms
The following terms were defined conceptually and operationally for a clear
• Culture shock - the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, The act or
an instance of exhausting.
national, or cultural group and observance of that group's customs, beliefs, and
language.
centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's
own. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to their own
customs, and religion. These ethnic distinctions and sub-divisions serve to define
• Exhaustion- the state operate within a different and unknown cultural or social
or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person’s
CHAPTER II
Related Literature
John Schroder (2003) cited when most people think about the term "immigrant",
the thought of someone leaving their home country because of poverty or limited work
opportunities, government persecution, and the general desire to live a better life all
comes to mind. While this image certainly applies to a number of people seeking
something better by immigrating to Europe or the United States, the same can be said
for the large number of middle-class citizens leaving those very same high-tax countries
that the world's poor are trying to get into. The only difference is, many of these modern
day immigrants are called "expatriates", and are leaving to save themselves from
becoming poorer.
For Americans especially, unless you are a native Indian, your ancestral roots
can be traced someplace else. That is to say, someone in your family tree left their
home country to seek a better life or opportunity in the United States. They could have
left for a variety of reasons. Perhaps it was the great potato famine in Ireland. Perhaps
it was war in Europe or elsewhere. Perhaps it was to live in a country where you did
not need permission from the government to change apartments, travel or go where you
please. Whatever the reason, someone in your family left their home country to live
Canadians and Europeans are becoming "Expatriates" for the same basic reason.
.
The literal definition of the term "expatriate" or "expat", could mean someone that
is giving up their residence or citizenship. Often, because people are doing so for tax
benefits, the term "tax exile" is used in conjunction with this terminology. In truth, we
can really say that the term "expatriate" is synonymous with "immigrant", although we
are talking about a new form of immigration. Some people will say that leaving one's
grand-parents had done before you. They moved on to someplace that made sense.
Someplace with less government interference, someplace where they could find better
Related Studies
Most expatriate parents, often with the best of intentions, have the wrong
approach when it comes to communicating to their children about moving abroad and
the impact their new lifestyle will have on them. Although children are the most
important people in a parent’s life, they are hardly ever involved in the initial decision-
making process of moving. We all assume that children do not suffer very much from a
transition, that they learn a new language quickly, that they make friends easily and that
they often embrace their new surroundings far faster than their parents. Moreover, it is
easy to conclude that they will not be confronted with the adult distress of culture shock
and the long, slow process of acculturation. “Children are more flexible”, we tend to
think.
Talking about culture shock is talking about coping with a great amount of
changes. Expatriates; adults, children, families, singles and couples, need to adapt to a
lot of changes in a short period of time. The way each of them copes with it is different.
The biggest difference between adults and children, or often also between the
expatriate and the partner, is the fact that one chose it and the other didn’t.
As an adult, who has chosen expatriation, you enter the model in the adventure stage,
which is marked by excited anticipation. The little misfortunes you already encountered
are still reasonably acceptable because of the excitement about the expatriation and the
numerous positive first impressions. It gives you the hope and sometimes the illusion
After a while you notice that confronting different ways of doing things, which was
earlier seen as surprising and interesting, is now an obstruction. Things are not that In a
third stage it is becoming more difficult to build up relationships with the locals. Since
you do not see them as “equal” you search your fellows. This will make the acculturation
difficult. You are sick of trying, you’ve done your best but now it’s not fun anymore. At
this moment culture shock is serious; sleep deprivation, mood swings and depressions
are not rare in this phase. The locals get blamed for everything and the only viable
Those who do not get weighed down with culture shock learn to adapt faster. The
phase of acceptance towards your own values and norms has replaced ethnocentrism
or the third stage. Humor towards extremes of both cultures sets the scene for
understanding and adjustment. Easy as you had expected and coping with all the small
There is a major difference between those who have chosen expatriation and
those who haven’t. Children will start on the other side of the model. They will go
through the normal change process. They are shocked when they hear about the move
and want to stay home. Even weeks after they have arrived in the new country they do
not want to be there and dislike everything. They are fighting against the change. After a
while, they realize that there is nothing they can do and are willing to try. Nevertheless,
they keep looking back. Only when their feelings start to become positive, step by step,
about the whole transition they will adapt and find themselves in the adventure stage.
The disconnection between children and their parents stems from the feeling that
their parents don’t understand a thing. This is related to fact that parents look forward
There are many tips and tricks on how to help children cope with changes, but a
lot depends on your child and the situation. Raising happy and well-adjusted children is
always a challenge, no matter where you live. However, when parenting issues are
Besides being flexible, maintaining routine, good communication, making life exciting
and staying in contact with home, we have learned that it is better to involve children as
soon as possible in the decision-making process. Let them hear your arguments and let
them state their opinion. They are very important family members and they want to be
treated that way as well. Children need time to adapt to differences and try to support
them in conquering culture shock. Very obvious symptoms of culture shock are