The impact of moves on international

school students: a transition study in

Argentina
Carola Schuarzberg and Steven Parenteau

Introduction
Helping students in international schools deal with the impact of relocation is a
major concern of school counsellors, teachers, parents, specialists and
administrators. However, research on the effect of international moves on the
social adaptation and academic achievement of such students is sparse,
inconclusive and controversial. To our knowledge, there have been three
comparative studies addressing adaptive and psychological effects of
international mobility between students living overseas and those who have
never lived abroad, done by Werkman et al (1981), Gemer et al (1992), and a
re-analysis of the last one by Gemer and Perry (2000).
Most research in different populations was based on the presumpdon that
geographical mobility and school changes are detrimental to school
achievement. However, the relafionship between mobility and academic
achievement is still under debate. In this regard, while Marchant and Medway
(1987) suggested that internationally mobile students achieve academically in
the same way as stable ones, Strobbino and Salvaterra (2000) concluded that
their academic success is significantly affected by their environment and
resources.
Despite the vast number of expatriates in Argentina, no research has
systemafically investigated the importance of the number of moves in the
prediction of the social adaptation and the academic achievement of mobile
compared to stable students attending an internafional school in this country'. In
an attempt to identify and understand the multiple factors of mobility, we report
the following exploratory research.

Method
Participants
The sample consisted of 207 students of 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades at an
international school in Buenos Aires, Argendnal

Procedure and measures

The 'International Schools Students' Transidon Questionnaire' was constructed
on the basis of relevant literature, and was pilot tested with parents and

33
students^ It consists of 165 Likert items and two open-ended questions, and
considers adolescents' perceptions in 16 dimensions of social adaptation''.
Students participated in this survey and a group follow-up as part of regular
classroom activities, with the student option of an individual session.
Final curricular GPA grades and Iowa Tests of Basic Skills GE scores were
used as an academic measure.

Analysis
Participants were divided into four groups on the basis of the number of
international moves: (1) no moves, (2) one move, (3) two moves, and (4) three
or more moves. Kruscal Wallis analyses were used to determine the effect of the
number of moves on the social adaptation and the academic achievement of the
students, and to compare the adaptation of sub-groups of students who receive
LC (Learning Center), ESL (English as a Second Language), and SSL (Spanish
as a Second Language) with those who do not.
Spearman correlations were computed to determine relationships between
academic achievement, social adaptation and multiple migratory variables:
namely, time at school and in the host country, number of schools, number of
languages spoken fluently and regularly, age of arrival to the host country and
age at first move.

Results
International mobility does not affect academic achievement
Groups with different numbers of moves did not show significant differences in
academic achievement. When the number of moves was considered by itself, it
was not directly associated to academic achievement (see table 1).

Table 1. Kruscal Wallis results

for academic achievement as a function of international moves

No One Two Three or

Academic moves move moves more moves
achievement (n=33) (n=60) (n=27) (n=87) X2(3) p
Mean ranks (n)
GPA (n=144) 77.78(23) 73.92(46) 53.18(20) 74.47(55) 4.665 0.198
GE(n=163) 78.38(29) 90.73(41) 78.32(25) 79.63(68) 1.898 0.594

Academic achievement GPA affects social adaptation and vice versa

Transient adolescents with higher GPA showed more school adaptation (r= 38,
p<0.01), and school motivation (r= 32, p<0.01). In addition they perceived less
amount of personal time (r= -26, p<0.05).

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Language and learning difficulties negatively affect social adaptation
LC students had less sense of emodonal well-being (x2= 5,323, p =0,021), family
adaptadon (x2= 7,181, p=0,007) and school adaptation {x2- 6,417, p=0,011),
SSL students presented difficulties in most social areas, as indicated by lower
radngs in percepdon of emotional support from friends (x2= 13,968, p=0,000),
family emodonal support (x2= 10,716, p=0,001), instrumental support (x2=
11,521, p=0,001), informational support (x2= 11,077, p=0,001), family
interacdon (x2= 13,783, p=0,000), family adaptadon (x2= 5,865, p=0,015),
adaptadon to moves (x2= 9,373, p=0,002), general adaptation (x2== 19,245,
p=0,000), school motivation (x2= 5,030, p=0,025), social skills (x2= 22,682,
p=0,000), and sense of emodonal well-being (x2= 11,794, p=0,001).
Students who received ESL, or ESL together with SSL perceived more
external demands (x2= 5,244, p=0,022 and x2= 4,275, p=O,O39 respecdvely).

International mobility negatively impacts upon social adaptation

The four groups differed in social skills and emotional well-being. Students with
no moves were best adapted. In contrast, first time movers showed significantly
more difficulties in social skills and emotional well-being (see table 2)^

Acquisition of adaptive capacities

The mean ranks of the students with two international moves did not differ
significantly from those of the students with no moves. This suggests that
students acquire adapdve capacities and resiliency in their second internadonal
move (see table 2, overleaf).

Migratory variables affecting social adaptation but not achievement

The longer the amount of dme spent in the host country (r= 24, p<0,01),
attending school (r= 22, p<0,01), and travelling (r= 16, p<0,05), the less the
students reported experiencing homesickness. Regularly speaking many
languages was negatively associated with perception of personal time (r= -22,
p<0,01) and family support (r= -17, p<0,05). The greater the number of schools
attended was negatively associated with perception of personal time (r= -19,
p<0,05). Finally, the greater the amount of time in the host country was
positively associated with general adaptation and family adaptation (r= 20,
p<0,01 and r= 14, p<0,05 respecdvely).

Discussion
The results offer the following insights on the impact of relocadon on
international schools' pre-adolescents and adolescents. The first international
move exposes students to an important adaptive fracture, evidenced in lower

35
 Table 2. Kruscal Wallis results
for social adaptation as a function of international moves

No moves One movE, Two moves Three or

more moves
Adaptation (n=33) (n=60) (n=27) (n=87) X2(3) P
Mean ranas
Emotional support 107.79 106.42 99.72 101.13 0.561 0.905
friends
Emotional support 120.80 96.82 99.54 102.63 3.648 0.302
family
Emotional support 102.86 108.62 97.70 100.95 0.845 0.839
teachers
Instrumental support 114.92 101.59 115.78 96.70 3.575 0.311
Informational support 108.23 104.28 105.69 99.40 0.664 0.882
Family interaction 120.71 97.51 94.91 103.63 3.903 0.272
Family adaptation 120.95 105.97 104.80 93.79 5.468 0.141
Self-demand 100.06 103.99 106.35 103.59 0.176 0.981
School adaptation 108.86 103.96 106.06 100.40 0.558 0.906
School motivation 108.59 100.43 101.02 103.18 0.440 0.932
Social skills 128.33 84.77 115.52 102.85 12.577 0.006
Emotional 118.98 91.44 116.59 101.63 6,013 0.049
well-being
Personal time 101.55 98.34 116.37 103.68 1.75 0.630
Note. Minimum n=205

reports of social skills and emotional well-being. Nevertheless, our results also
indicate that there is a buffering effect resulting from the repetition of the
experience that helps adolescents cope better with repeated moves.
The number of moves is neither the only nor necessarily the most important
factor affecting school performance. Academic success is a multi-dimensional
phenomenon, associated with many variables which need to be controlled. Thus,
continual student turnover is not disruptive in itself for international school
students when schools manage to alleviate negative conditions and attend to
achievement gaps.
Difficulfies in adaptation affect school performance, and vice versa. This
suggests that students who already present difficulties in one area are at greater
risk of having difficulties in other developmental domains and that a positive
intervention in one area might also be beneficial to others. The adaptafion and
learning processes are related with the capacity to analyse and integrate multiple
variables as part of the transition experience, the insertion in an intercultural
environment, and the capacity to substitute the old for the new.
Consistent with Murphy (2003), second language and LC students constitute

36
disadvantaged groups needing special management, as they are likely to suffer
from psychological, social and academic consequences brought on by the lack
of language skills until they acquire them. The association among emotional
well-being, social adaptation and academic difficulties is shown in LC students.
From this point of view, a decline in academic performance of LC mobile
students may be the result of emotional instability and adaptadon difficulties
produced by the relocation process.
In addidon, the learning difficulty itself is expected to add an important
Stressor to the critical disrupdon in relationships with family, friends and
community. Thus, when assessing, accommodadng, and remediadng learning
and language difficulties in international school students, it is important to
identify and difl'erendate accurately whether a difficulty is due to the students'
potendal, language acquisidon, culture shock, own-culture/mother tongue
deprivation, the school climate and/or system, cultural dissonance/
misinterpretadons, developmental aspects, or other factors combined.

Conclusions
Implications
These results have implications for school counselling, transidon, social skills,
second language and learning centre programming, and clinical and cultural
psychology. Although each move is unique and some of its consequences are
unpredictable, these findings can promote awareness in recurrent pressure
points of an intemationally mobile lifestyle.
Without clear understanding of students' enrolment, assessment, placement,
and of teachers' expectadons and methodologies, together with strong
student/teacher/parental involvement, the probability of misdiagnosis and
application of inappropriate academic, adaptive or psychological strategies may
increase significandy. Undoubtedly, a strong commitment must be present
among international schools to better understand students' needs and to
strategically implement prevention programmes to smooth transidons.

Potentially at-risk students

Students who can be considered at-risk for social adaptation are those: (a) who
encounter their first move, (b) who change schools many times, (c) who receive
LC, ESL and/or SSL support, and (d) who regularly speak many languages.
More attention should be placed upon assessment and assistance of first time
movers' social skills and emodonal well-being. Similarly, second language
acquisition and learning centre programming should be considered for all
mobile students. Support in these areas will help students overcome relationship
and educadonal disrupdons, as well as language and cultural barriers.

37
Early identiflcation
At-risk or needy adolescents can be identified by using individual or group pre-
screening techniques. Research findings and clinical and counselling
experiences suggest that some adaptive and academic signs needing observadon
and evaluadon are: withdrawal, decrease in communicadon, loneliness,
isoladon, detachment, intense feelings of not fitdng in, lack of interest for new
acdvities or activides they used to enjoy, inconsistent academic achievement,
fluctuations in organisation, changes in attention and/or concentration
capacides, language difficuldes, low tolerance for frustradon, low self-esteem,
and persistent expressions of the following: anger, sadness, anxiety and
depression.
Some other aspects needing evaluation are the tendency to minimise moving
experiences, the denial or difficulty of expressing sadness and losses that may
accompany moves, and the need or desire to go back. The potendal for personal
reflection, understanding and clarification of expectations and motivations is
likely to be inhibited if these issues are left unresolved.

Protective factors
Protecdve adaptive factors include: (a) the acquisidon of social skills necessary
to integrate and share common experiences with peers, (b) the increase of
emotional well-being in the second internadonal move, (c) the knowledge of the
language of the host country and knowledge of the English language, (d) more
dme spent in the host country, attending school and spent abroad, (e) the
opportunity to say good-bye to beloved ones, (f) the maintenance of close
friendships, and (g) familiarity with people, places and possessions in the host
country.
Receiving a warm welcome is always advantageous, combined with individual
personality competencies such as the capacity to cope with difficult adapdve
moments with calmness or minimal anxiety, self-assuredness and self-esteem,
and a strong parent-adolescent reladonship that makes it possible to discuss
issues related to moves, safety, and developmental independence.

Beneflts
The most important gain of mobility is the possibility of developing adaptive
capacities in the second international move as a result of solving obstacles in an
unknown territory and finding ways of relating to one another and to one's
surroundings. These coping skills acquired in an intercultural environment,
together with the personal growth that may accompany them, are valuable
strengths in a world where change and crisis seem to be increasingly an
everyday occurrence.

38
Negative consequences
The desire for a quick and efficient adjustment can lead to an overadaptation
process in adaptive and/or academic areas. An exaggerated dedication to
academics or exaggerated extroversion may constitute a compensatory
mechanism for transition difficuldes. Forced adaptation or unregarded painful
emotions may lead to rigid or stereotypical responses with negative effects on
psychological well-being and on the learning process.
Moving many times may lead to confusion, and therefore international school
students must accomplish specific adjustment tasks in their process of identity
development (Schaetfi, 2000). The thought of having to move yet again, before
gaining stability or when sustained adaptive demands are overwhelming, may
destabilise weakly structured personalifies. In this regard, aspects needing
psychological attendon are the accumulation of unresolved grief from the
repetition of separation and closure cycles, and possible identity and self-esteem
difficulties resulting from the need to redefine roles, one's sense of identity and
roots following each move. Adolescents who are struggling with their idenfities
and/or quietly grieving losses require adults who are willing to allow for these
expressions.

Limitations and future research

In this study, the difficulty in comparing longitudinally prior achievement and
adaptation adds important limitadons. Also, it was not determined whether
students' answers were influenced by their cultures. Despite limitadons, these
findings can be generalised for a similar age group of internadonal schools with
similar social and historical conditions. Further research is needed to continue
clarifying the multiple factors associated with mobility and their dynamic and
complex interconnectedness which could not be embraced in this correlational
study.

Bibliography
Gerner, M, Perry, F, Moselle, M, & Archbold, M (1992) Characteristics of internationally mobile
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Gerner, M & Perry, E (2000) Gender difference in cultural acceptance and career orientation among
internationally mobile and non-internationally mobile adolescents. School Psychology Review, 29,
p. 267-284.
Marcbant, K H & Medway, J H (1987) Adjustment and achievement associated with mobility in
military families. Psychology in the Schools, 24, pp. 289-294.
Murphy, E (2003) Monolingual international schools and the young non-English speaking child.
Journal of Research in International Education, 2, pp. 25-46.
Pollock, D & Van Recken, R (2001) Third culture kids: The experience of growing up among
worlds. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

39
Schaetti, B F (2000) Global nomad identity development: a review of the literature. Unpublished
paper written in partial fulfillment of PhD requirements. The Union Institute.
Strobbino, J & Salvaterra, M (2000) School transitions among adolescent children of military
personnel: a strengths perspective. Social Work in Education, 22, (2), pp. 95-108.
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Carola Schuarzberg has a Bachelor Degree in Clinical Psychology and a Postgraduate Degree in
Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents. This research is part of her Doctoral Dissertation in
Clinical Psychology. For the last six years she has been conducting bilingual psychotherapy and
psycho-educational assessments, with emphasis,, in the field ofthe transitions of expatriate families
in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Email: carola@vianetworks.net.ar

Steven Parenteau has worked as an international school counsellor for eight years in South Korea,
Tanzania and Argentina, where he collaborated intensely in this research. Social Development and
Educational Psychology training in the US led him to School Social Work and Counselling in both
primary and secondary schools enabling him to work with many teams in the establishment and
delivery of effective prevention programmes, student advocacy and support services. He is currently
living in NSW, Australia. Email: parenteaus@mullum.com.ar

The fact that stable or local students also have to adapt to the moves of their moving peers and
teachers makes them a less pure group because they are not 'strictly' stable.
Mobile Third Culture Kids (TCKs), as defined by Pollock and Van Recken (2001), were mostly
corporate or 'business brats' and diplomatic kids. Stable or local students in this international
school mostly shared these social and economic characteristics as well as many values and ethics
acquired in the 'third culture' and within their own families, except the moving experiences.
The 'International Schools Students' Transition Questionnaire' used in this research is available
upon request.
Cronbach-alpha reliability coefficients for the Likert subscales of the questionnaire were
computed.
When comparing these groups or other sub-groups, we excluded the dimensions of general
adaptation, homesickness and adaptation to moves, because they better describe mobile adolescents.
They were only included when comparing students who receive SSL with those who do not.

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