Historia Reimagined

Storytelling and Identity in Cross-Cultural Educational Development

Abstract

Educational developers are boundary crossers within and between their disciplines and institutions, a liminal state that profoundly influences our sense of professional identity. This identity is further tested when the outer circles, that of nation and state, move across borders. Such an understanding is critical, not only in light of increased interest in global partnerships, but also as a reflective lens through which to critically evaluate our assumptions and beliefs. This study seeks to deepen our understanding of the challenge of cross-cultural exchange to our sense of who we are and what we do as educational developers by exploring the negotiation of identities for educational developers, primarily through the use of our stories.  In this case, the experiences of educational developers who participated in residencies in Latin America and the Caribbean are offered as paths to fostering understanding and challenging identity. Each story emphasizes the complex and contested relationships between language, relationships, and culture, and taken collectively they evoke a number of significant questions about the nature of our work.