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Emotional impact of student relocation More consideration is needed to ensure settled transitions, writes Sarah Whyte As educators in international schools, we bear witness to new arrivals and frequent departures among our students within any given academic year. International schools tend to be well organised in terms of the logistics required for new or leaving students. However, the emotional side of relocation is often neglected. This is a problem, because relocations are emotionally stressful. This emotional stress can manifest itself in different ways, such as students withdrawing from friendships, or expressing anger in a way which is inappropriate in school. On the surface, students may seem to settle in very quickly, but the reality is that it can take many months for students to feel they belong fully in a new school. For leaving students, it’s not uncommon for them to either distance themselves from friends, or notice their friends are focusing more attention on other friendships. This is referred to as a ‘quick release response’ by Pollock (1998 p46) and—in my experience—is distressing for all parties involved. Relocation has a huge emotional impact on children. Pollock and Van Reken (2009) point out that ‘for Third Culture Autumn
Spring |
| 2019
Kids and their families … there are multiple and repetitive cycles of grief’ (p74). The cumulative emotional impact of loss and grief is often further compounded by the ‘acceptance by families that parental guilt and child grief were inescapable aspects of living a mobile lifestyle’ (McLachlan, 2007 p239). In my work, I consistently hear that many international teachers are unaware of the emotional impact of relocation, and the subsequent issues which arise for students as a direct result of growing up in a highly mobile world. Furthermore, most of the international teachers I’ve worked with have never received any specific professional development on how to best support their students with the challenges of relocation. Higgins and Wigford’s (2018) survey of 1,056 teachers and leaders reinforces this point, stating that ‘mobility issues, particularly school changes, appear to be under-recognised. Understanding transition in terms of loss and grief can be helpful’. It is particularly important to support students to process the grief they experience when losing someone or something they value. If this grief is not addressed, it can
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