Everyday understandings of peace and non-peace: peacekeeping and peacebuilding at a US Midwestern high school

This article reports findings from a critical ethnographic action research project at a US Midwestern high school in the 2004-2005 academic year. The project engaged seven teacher inquirers in an intercultural peace curricula development process. Data collected from participant observation, from personal interviews and from focus group meetings are examined within the conceptual framework of micro-peacekeeping, micro-peacebuilding and intercultural peace. Implications for action research that is responsive to local conceptions of peace and non-peace are discussed. The author calls for more vigorous and nuanced peace theory for guiding peace education efforts in multicultural contexts.