MK RESEARCH: FOUNDATIONS David L. Wickstrom, Phd
In the October 1994 issue of Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ), this author had an article published in which he stated, “Missionary research is getting a bad name, especially as it relates to missionary kids (MKs). As one MK put it, ‘I believe that we are always sought out and used as a source of study since we are so easily targeted .... It seems that many books and articles written are only by those who have had bad experiences. This definitely affects those who have never been overseas.” The opinions of many MKs can be summarized in the statement: “We’re getting tired of being studied so much; we’re constantly getting surveys, and it makes us feel like we’re strange or something, like guinea pigs.” However, many MKs are saying just the opposite. As one said, “I’m so glad someone has stopped speculating and is actually doing some good solid research on MKs.’” During the years prior to 1994 and starting as early as 1977, some serious research studies had been conducted, three of them Doctoral dissertations. In 1977 C.B. Hermann wrote a dissertation titled “Foundational factors of trust and autonomy influencing the identity-formation of the multi-cultural life-styled MK.” D. J. Schipper completed a dissertation titled “Self-concept differences between early, late and non-boarding missionary children.” Both of these studies were published that year in Dissertation Abstracts International. A classmate of D.J. Schipper was the current author who, in 1978 wrote a Doctoral dissertation titled “Self-esteem and dependency in early,
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late and non-boarding missionary children.” Research with MKs and related issues was gaining traction, especially after the International Conference for Missionary Kids (ICMK) was held in Manila, Philippines in 1984. At that first ICMK, participants shared their stories, and numerous individuals who worked with MKs shared their experiences. The atmosphere was one of inclusion and belonging, a feeling of “being at home” and of “not being strange.” This conference generated so much momentum that a second ICMK was held in1987 in Quito, Ecuador, and a third was held in 1989 in Nairobi, Kenya. At these ICMKs little empirical research described the MK experience. However, mission organizations were beginning to desire a more thorough and substantiated understanding of MKs. It was at this point that MK-CART/CORE was established. It was consortium of eventually 11 mission organizations (CART—Consultation and Research Team) and six researchers (CORE—Committee on Research and Endowment). The mandate for CART/CORE was for the missionary organizations and the researchers to design studies of mutual interest and concern to the missions, for the researchers to conduct the research, and for MKCART/CORE to meet annually to discuss the results of each study. The studies conducted by MK-CART/CORE and the findings/results that emerged laid the foundation for our understanding of MKs and their families as well as for the research that has followed.
