Understanding Third Culture Kids' Perception of the Teenage Sunday School Classes in two Urban African Churches.

Abstract

The purpose of this grounded theory study is to understand and explain the experiences of Third Culture Kids in Sunday school in two urban African Churches and identify ways of helping them adjust to a different culture. Data collected was by means of interviews and e-mails for the sake of TCKs that live far away. The research findings revealed some significant results: • TCKs are kids who have no choice on the movements they have made from location to location. • TCKs have had diverse cultural adjustment issues to cope with in the course of moving from place to place. Their experiences though diverse yet valuable. • TCKs desire friendship from Sunday School teachers in order to receive support as they seek to adjust to various cultural situations they find themselves in. • TCKs react to changes according to how they perceive them, but need to be understood in the sense that if they display any negative reactions to situations, it is not deliberate. For a long time, the attitudes of TCKs in Sunday School classes has been a concern to the church especially in relation to the Western Missionary TCKs, however this study has opened a small window into some of the reasons for the attitudes of TCKs in Sunday School classes. I hope that the church will have solutions for the issue at hand and do better in handling the issues for the benefit of TCKs and the church.