This research explores the possibility of developing intercultural education in museums for Adult CCKs using a study of Adult CCKs from the local Chinese communities in Scotland. Globalization has brought about a reconfiguration of cultural diversity (Colomer, 2017: 923). As groups with complex and interwoven culture identities, belonging and special cultural needs (Colomer, 2017: 913), Adult Cross Culture Kid (CCK) has come into the public eye and attracted attention in the fields of education and mental health (Moore and Barker, 2012, p.553). Adult Cross-Cultural Kid (CCK) is an adult “who has lived in – or meaningfully interacted with – two or more cultural environments for a significant period of time during the first eighteen years of life” (Van Reken, 2011, p.33).  The recent study of adult CCKs and their behavior in school have emphasize the important of the awareness of education participants (Colantonio-Yurko et al., 2023: 52-53 & Kwon, 2019: 113). The latest research has provided a set of recommendations for educating participants on how to better support inclusion and respect for adult CCKs in formal education Settings such as schools (Colantonio-Yurko et al., 2023: 59). However, this research aims to further expand the study on the importance of educational participants in the formation of identity and belonging of adult CCKs to the field of informal education, especially in the context of museum education.

In collaboration with the National Museum of Scotland, researcher designed a "cultural identity" guided tour program for the adult CCK in the local Chinese community in Scotland, based on the museum's rich collections of Scottish culture and Chinese culture. To better analyze the cultural identity and cross-cultural sense of belonging of CCK, in addition to recording the participants' reactions and feedback during the guided tour, the researchers also designed interviews with the participants at the end of the tour and follow-up visits two weeks after the visit. Eight adult CCK participants are invited to participate in the guided tour along with the interviews. The adult CCKs in this study specifically refers to: adults from the local Chinese communities in Scotland who have lived in Scotland for more than one year before age of 18 and have grown up with diverse cultural background between Scottish cultural environment and Chinese cultural environment and are currently residing in Scotland. The guided tour takes culture as the entry point to explore the complex and unique cultural identity and Transnational Belonging of adult CCK through the perspective of multiple dimensions, such as “art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.” (UNESCO, 2006, p. 12).

The purpose of this research is to explore the emotional orientation of adult CCK towards the family country culture (Chinese culture) under the atmosphere of the host country culture (Scottish culture) and further explore the transnational belonging of adult CCK in the museum. This study focuses on whether the national culture of adult CCKs will influence the cultural identity of these subjects and affect their understanding of museum narrative. Focusing on the identity and representation of local Adult CCK group in museums, this research also talks about how the practitioners of museum education breaking the mainstream white-centric narrative of museums and better respect and include the multicultural culture identities of museum visitors. By providing a cross-cultural perspective, this study focuses on the reflection of museum narratives and explores how to reconstruct museum narratives and cross-cultural cooperation in a more decolonizing, egalitarian and open way.

This research is guided by qualitative research methods and interpretivism paradigms. Qualitative research methods are of great significance in cross-cultural studies because they can hear the voices of people who are “silenced, othered, and marginalized by the dominant social order” (Liamputtong, 2022, p.2). According to Munn et al. (2018 cited in Soundy & Heneghan, 2022, p.266), qualitative review synthesis method focuses on the analysis of human experiences such as social and cultural phenomena. Qualitative methods of narrative interviews are used to gain a nuanced understanding of the differences in identity and belonging among adult CCKs. Interpretability and flexibility are at the core of qualitative research, as the focus of qualitative methods lies in meaning and interpretation (Liamputtong, 2022, p.2). Focusing on the personal experiences and subjective understandings within the data, the research will use interpretive research methods to guides the data analysis, and to place issues of the political and economic nature of social justice or education in a social context (West, 2018: 2-4; Alharahsheh & Pius, 2020: 39). The data sources for this study are based on primary data obtained from a series of interviews conducted by CCK participants after their experience with the guided tour program and secondary literature data from academic journals. To collect the feedback and reflection of Adult CCKs during the guided tour walking, the interview method adopted for this project is a combination of walking -interview and face-to-face interviews. Researcher has designed a special "cultural identity" guided tour route for the walking-interview at the National Museum of Scotland. And invite 8 Adult CCK participants from the local Chinese communities in Scotland. Researcher collects the participants' reactions, feelings and feedback regarding the museum narrative during and after the tour in the museum. And conduct another follow-up interview with each participant two weeks after the tour to observe and document the long-term reactions and effects of the museum tour. This research uses the interpretivist storytelling approach to analyses the original data obtained from the interviews. Researcher identifies recurring themes and patterns to clarify the essence of each narrative and then interweaves these stories to form a coherent understanding that reflects common human experiences. Through narrative analysis techniques, the research reveals how these stories bring vitality to the original data and establish connections with the audience at a deeper level.

This study argues that museums, as public cultural and educational sites, have an untapped potential to develop intercultural education. Museums should actively connect with local cross-cultural communities and integrate cross-cultural narratives into museums. The feedback and reflection from the minority community provides support for how the museum can be more open to listening and reflective learning in practice to counter entrenched racist imperialist and colonial worldviews and ideologies. This research uses the exhibits in the museum as an anchor to offer opportunities for these CCKs of Chinese immigrant community to tell their stories of growing up under the interwoven influence of Scottish culture and Chinese culture. The "Cultural Identity" tour of the National Museum of Scotland provided CCKs with an effective exploration of their own cultural identities and sense of belonging, and stimulated CCKs to explore their culture identities. This study is expected to arouse more attention to the issue of cultural identity and sense of belonging of the CCK group and to helping these Adult CCKs, who have grown up with diverse cultural backgrounds and are currently residing in Scotland, find their cultural identity and voice opportunities within the National Museum of Scottish. However, CCK are just a general term for people who face similar cross-cultural difficulties. In fact, the situation of different regions, different cultures, different communities and even different individuals is diverse and complex. This research only focuses on a very limited cross-cultural population of children, and only focuses on the interwoven influence between Scottish culture and Chinese culture. This research expects to provide a structure to help understand the chaotic transnational belonging and complex cultural identity of adult CCK, and to be applied and verified in a wider range of cross-cultural children's research in the future.

Alharahsheh, H. H. & Pius, A. 2020, “A Review of key paradigms: positivism VS interpretivism”, Glob Acad J Humanit Soc Sci; Vol.2, no.3, pp.39-43, at https://www.gajrc.com/media/articles/GAJHSS_23_39-43_VMGJbOK.pdf. Colantonio-Yurko, K., Abugasea, H. M., & Szilagyi, J. 2023, “Third Culture and Cross-Cultural Kids: Supporting Bi/Multilingual Students with Many Cultural Identities and Experiences”, The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, vol.96, no.2, pp.52-60, DOI: 10.1080/00098655.2023.2165473. Colomer, L. 2017, “Heritage on the move. Cross-cultural heritage as a response to globalisation, mobilities and multiple migrations”, International Journal of Heritage Studies, 23:10, 913-927, DOI: 10.1080/13527258.2017.1347890. Colomer, L. 2020, “Feeling like at home in airports: Experiences, memories and affects of placeness among Third Culture Kids”, Applied Mobilities, vol.5, no.2, pp.155-170, DOI: 10.1080/23800127.2018.1436636. Kwon, J. 2019, “Third Culture Kids: Growing up with mobility and cross-cultural transitions”, Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, vol.13, no.2, pp.113-122, DOI: 10.1080/15595692.2018.1490718. Liamputtong, P. 2022, “Conducting cross-cultural research qualitatively in social science: setting the scene”, in Handbook of qualitative cross-cultural research methods: A social science perspective, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. Moore, A.M. & Barker, G.G. 2012, "Confused or multicultural: Third culture individuals’ cultural identity", International journal of intercultural relations, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 553-562. Pelsmaekers, K. & Van Hout, T. 2020, “People on the move: how museums de-marginalize migration”, Social semiotics, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 607-624. Soundy, A. & Heneghan, N.R. 2022, "Meta-ethnography", International review of sport and exercise psychology, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 266-286. Szabo, A., & Ward, C., 2015, “Identity development during cultural transition: The role of social-cognitive identity processes”, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, vol. 46, pp.13-25, ISSN 0147-1767, at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.03.019. UNESCO, 2006, UNESCO guidelines on intercultural education, at https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000147878 Van Reken, R.E., 2011, Cross-cultural kids: The new prototype. Writing out of limbo: International childhoods, global nomads and third culture kids, pp.25-44. West, R. 2018, “Interpretivism in Education: An Overview”, Running Head: INTERPRETIVISM IN EDUCATION 1, University of the Pacific, at https://vdocuments.mx/interpretivism-in-education-an-overview-rachel-west-in-education-an-overview.html?page=1.