| The study of the education of minority and majority groups in pluralistic societies is important for understanding the processes of social and cultural change that are occurring in a culturally, economically, politically, and environmentally interdependent world. A small and unique window, this study provides a view of how a particular intercultural peace curricula effort at a U.S. Midwestern high school facilitated modest social change in a local context. This critical qualitative study engaged seven teacher inquirers in a curricula change effort. Specifically, this ethnographic action research project clarified the attitudinal and structural factors that impeded and/or facilitated an intercultural peace curricula development project---a project that responded to the current multicultural needs of a traditionally mono-cultural Indiana high school. This study ascertained the constraints and possibilities of intercultural peacebuilding opportunities within layers of educational policy contexts, organizational culture/s, and cultural meanings ascribed by both individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds at Junction High School.;The findings indicate that constraints on teacher time, on teacher energy, on school resources, and dominant Euro-American in-group norms were encountered during the curricula development process. Short-term, additive curricula units were developed and the following long term ideas were suggested but not initiated by teacher inquirers: cultural awareness education that permeates the school curriculum; a diversity course; diversity graduation requirements; and/or a school wide reading. Teacher inquirers reported changes from their involvement in the intercultural peace curricula development process: increased levels of cultural awareness; changes in their feelings toward newcomers and their classroom behaviors in relation to newcomers; and positive changes that they saw in newcomer student attitudes and behaviors. This case study provides a practice-oriented, conceptual, and theoretical braiding of peace education, of intercultural education, and of multicultural education. |
