This qualitative, comparative case study from Sweden, Northern Ireland and Croatia argues for the recognition and acknowledgment of the existence of multiple narratives together with developing understandings of single identities and academic identity in globalized societies. It also considers the importance of mobility of academic from different socio-cultural backgrounds, mutual and joint creation and implementation of syllabus of University programmes.

Teacher/academic identities are explored using the narrative inquiry of three teachers/academics from Sweden, Northern Ireland and Croatia, who worked together for a number of years as colleagues during that time built relationships, earned mutual respect, gained confidence and exchanged experiences. Their collaboration had a strong influence in the joint creation of interdisciplinary and intercultural contexts and professional development in the implementation of the syllabus of a Community Youth Work Programme.

In this paper, these three authors take into account the role of teachers/academics derived from their work in Sweden, Northern Ireland and Croatia. They also consider how globalisation is conceived, and the role one assigns to the teacher in relation to it.

“Narrative inquiry, according to Clanidin and Connelly is a way of understanding experience. It is collaboration between research and participants, over time in the place, or series of places, and in social interactions with milieus. An inquirer enters this matrix in the minds of living and telling, reliving and retelling, the stories and experiences that makes people’s lives, both individual and social. Simply stated...narrative inquiry is stories lived and told”. (Clanidin & Connelly, 2000. P. 20)

In today’s world, there are strong debates and complex and nuanced views around culture, civilisation, and identity. In public discourse, simplistic views are common and these are often followed by fear and uncertainty, exaggerated arguments and reactions that lead to extreme and polarized positions. Sociocultural and political milieus feel the impact of these positions.

Universities are no exception. The authors of this paper experienced this social polarization during their multicultural and cross-cultural course Community Youth Work. Often their students were from different socio-cultural backgrounds and they were holding these polarized ideological positions quite strongly on a daily basis during the course. Faced with this problem as educators they cautiously structured teaching in such a way that narrative inquiry became a suitable tool for the creation of distinctive national and cultural environments.

There were two major aspects to the Community Youth Work course as it was delivered:

First the development of Community Youth Work as an intervention strategy with young people using non-formal education in society and second, beginning to address the relationship issue in a post violent conflict scenario. Using paired teaching, across cultural boundaries, and reflective practice the authors provided a modelling example for students that allowed for a different view of dealing with cross-cultural identities in a constructive and positive manner.