Expatriation in the Light of Post-Conventional Ego-Development: Working with Expatriate Clients in a Developmental Context

Abstract

This heuristic research study places the phenomenon of expatriation into a developmental context and explores how cultural relocation may contribute towards individuals’ post-conventional ego-development. The expansion of the phenomenon due to the accelerated process of globalisation has resulted in an increasing need for a better understanding of cross-cultural transitions. The research initiated a qualitative observation of six expatriates’ transition and developmental experiences, enabling a perhaps more refined and accurate comprehension of the process of growth than the quantitative methods. The study, however, goes beyond the cultural perspectives and proposes a holistic developmental approach to coaching expatriates, including characteristic developmental themes identified in the research participants’ stories.

Keywords

expatriation Brussels ego-development culture coaching

References

Abbott

(2010). Cross cultural coaching: A paradoxical perspective. In: Cox

, Bachkirova

and Clutterbuck

(Eds.), The complete handbook of coaching. London: SAGE. pp. 324–340.

Adams

(2006). Towards an existential phenomenological model of life span human development. Existential Analysis, 17(2), 261–281.

Alexander

C. N.

(1982). Ego development, personality and behavioral change in inmates practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique or practicing in other programs: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study. Dissertation Abstracts International, 43 (2), 539–B.

Alexander

C. N.

and Boyer

R. W.

(1989). Seven states of consciousness. Unfolding the full potential of the cosmic psyche in individual life through Maharshi's Vedic psychology. Modern Science and Vedic Science, 2, 324–372.

Bauer

J. J.

and Bonanno

G. A.

(2001). Continuity amid discontinuity: Bridging one's past and present in stories of conjugal bereavement. Narrative Inquiry, 11, 123–158.

Bauer

J. J.

and McAdams

D. P.

(2004). Personal growth in adults’ stories of life transitions. Journal of Personality, 73(3), 573–602.

Beck

D. E.

and Cowan

C. C.

(1996). Spiral dynamics: Mastering values, leadership, and change. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Berry

J. W.

(1997). Integration, acculturation and adaption. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46(1), 5–68.

Bridges

(2004). Transitions: Making sense of life's changes (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Lifelong Books.

10.

Bryman

(2008). Social research methods (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

11.

Commons

M. L.

, Galaz-Fontes

J. F.

and Morse

S. J.

(2006). Leadership, cross-cultural contact, socio-economic status, and formal operational reasoning about moral dilemmas among Mexican non-literate adults and high school students. Journal of Education, 35 (2), 247–267.

12.

Cook-Greuter

(1999). Postautonomous ego development: its nature and measurement. Doctoral Dissertation, Cambridge: Harvard Graduate School of Education.

13.

Cook-Greuter

(2000). Mature ego development: A gateway to ego transcendence?. Journal of Adult Development, 7 (4), 227–240.

14.

Cook-Greuter

(2002). A detailed description of the development of nine action logics in the leadership development framework: Adapted from Ego-Development Theory. (S. I.): HarthillUSA (now Cook-Greuter and Associates LLC). Retrieved 12 June 2011 from http://files.meetup.com/1703576/Ego%20Development%20Theory.pdf

15.

Cook-Greuter

(2005). Ego development: Nine levels of increasing embrace. Wayland: II Psychology Center. Retrieved 6 January 2011 from http://areas.fba.ul.pt/jpeneda/Cook-Greuter.pdf

16.

Cook-Greuter

, personal communication, 11 March 2011.

17.

Deboosere

, Eggerickx

, Van Hecke

and Wayens

(2009). The population of Brussels: a demographic overview. Brusselsstudies.be – The e-journal for academic research on Brussels. Retrieved 6 March 2012 from http://brusselsstudies.be/fr/brussels-studies-la-revue-scientifique-electronique-pour-les-recherches-sur-bruxelles

18.

Den Outer

(2009). Coaching and culture: Developmental theory and cross-cultural transitions in international students. MA Thesis, Oxford Brookes University.

19.

Fowler

(1981). Stages of faith: The psychology of human development and the quest for meaning. San Francisco: Harper& Row.

20.

Fowler

(2001). Faith development theory and postmodern challenges. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 11(3), 159–172.

21.

Gilbert

, personal communication, 18 June 2011.

22.

Gilligan

(1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

23.

Graves

C. W.

(1970). Levels of existence: An open system theory of values. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 10(2), 131–154.

24.

Hermans

H. J. M.

(2001). The dialogical self: Toward a theory of personal and cultural positioning. Culture & Psychology, 7(3), 243–281.

25.

Hermans

H. J. M.

and Kempen

H. J. G.

(1998). Moving cultures: The perilous problems of cultural dichotomies in a globalizing society. American Psychologist, 53, 1111–1120.

26.

Hofstede

(1980). Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

27.

Hudson

and McLean

(2000). Life-launch: A passionate guide to the rest of your life. Santa Barbara: Hudson Institute Press.

28.

L. X.

and Loevinger

(1996). Measuring ego development (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

29.

Interview with Ken Wilber on ego development. (2009). (Anon.) 10:55. (s.l.). Retrieved 26 October 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FLsVngJkwY

30.

James

(1890). The principles of psychology (Vol. 1). New York: Henry Holt.

31.

Kegan

(1994). In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

32.

Kegan

(2001). The evolving self: Problem and process in human development. London: Harward University Press.

33.

King

L. A.

(2001). The hard road to the good life: The happy, mature person. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 41(1), 51–72.

34.

Kohlberg

(1969). States in the development of moral thought and action. New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston.

35.

König

(2009). Moving experience: Dialogues between personal cultural positions. Culture & Psychology, 15(1), 97–119.

36.

Loevinger

(1976). Ego development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

37.

Manners

and Durkin

(2001). A critical review of the validity of ego development theory and its measurement. Journal of Personality Assessment, 77(3), 541–567.

38.

Maslow

A. H.

(1970). Motivation and personality (2nd ed). New York: Harper&Row.

39.

Meditation notes from the writings of Ken Wilber. (n.d) (Anon.) (s.l.). Retrieved 24 April 2012 from http://www.integralworld.net/meditation.html

40.

Miller

D. T.

and Prentice

D. A.

(1994). The self and the collective. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 451–453.

41.

Miller

and Cook-Greuter

(1994). From postconventional development to transcendence: Visions and theories. In: Miller

and Cook-Greuter

(Eds.), Mature thought and transcendence in adulthood: The further reaches of adult development. Lanham: MN: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. xv–xxxii.

42.

Moustakas

(1990). Heuristic research: Design, methodology, and application. California: Sage.

43.

Nelson-Jones

(2006). Theory and practice of counselling and therapy (4th ed.). London: SAGE.

44.

Nidich

S. I.

, Nidich

R. J.

and Alexander

C. N.

(2000). Moral development and higher states of consciousness. Journal of Adult Development, 7(4), 217–225.

45.

Padilla

A. M.

and Perez

(2003). Acculturation, social identity, and social condition: A new perspective. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 25(1), 35–55. Retrieved 12 June 2011 from http://www.stanford.edu/∼apadilla/PadillaPerez03a.pdf

46.

Passmore

(Ed.). (2009). Diversity in coaching: Working with gender, culture, race, and age. London: Kogan Page.

47.

Pfaffenberger

A. H.

(2005). Optimal adult development: An inquiry into the dynamics of growth. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 45(3), 279–301.

48.

Piaget

(1985). The equilibration of cognitive structures: The central problem of intellectual development. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

49.

Rosinski

(2003). Coaching across cultures: New tools for leveraging national, corporate, and professional differences. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

50.

Sugarman

(2001). Life-span development: Frameworks, accounts and strategies (2nd ed.), Hove: Psychology Press.

51.

Vaillant

G. E.

and McCullough

(1987). The Washington University Sentence Completion Test compared with other measures of adult ego-development. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 1189–1194.

52.

Wade

(1996). Changes of mind: A holonomic theory of the evolution of consciousness. Albany, NY: State University Press of New York.

53.

Wilber

(1999). One Taste: The journals of Ken Wilber. Boston: Shambhala Publications.

54.

Wilber

(2000). Integral Psychology. Boston: Shambhala Publications.

55.

Wilber

(2007). Integral Spirituality: A startling new role for religion in the modern and postmodern world. Boston: Shambhala Publications.