Putting theory into peaceful practice: Insights and reflections on the process of coproducing a school-based intergroup relations intervention with teachers.

Abstract

With the increasing ethnic diversity in school classrooms globally, understanding how best to harness intergroup contact and promote social cohesion is a timely challenge for science, policy, and practice alike. There is an urgent need, therefore, for applied social psychological research that bridges theory and practice in the pursuit of peace. The present article reflects on the process of working with teachers in ethnically diverse secondary schools in England to coproduce an intervention that aimed to promote better intergroup relations among 11-year-old school students. Through a series of workshops, we cocreated a theoretically informed intervention that was then implemented and evaluated in schools. In this article, we discuss our approach to the development of our intervention. We then conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis of our research process and approach to coproduction and offer recommendations for researchers aiming to carry out applied research in the pursuit of peace. The appropriateness of social psychological frameworks for promoting intergroup relations, and in turn, peace in real-world contexts and implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Translating social science for peace: Benefits, challenges, and recommendations.

“…As a final example of how to conduct translational science, researchers might partner with practitioners from the beginning of intervention development to create an intervention together. This approach draws on the researchers’ theoretical and methodological expertise and on the practitioners’ community building expertise from the beginning of intervention development (e.g., see Blattman et al, 2017; Kalla & Broockman, 2020; Littman et al, 2022; McKeown et al, 2022; Paluck, 2009; Scacco & Warren, 2018).…”

Putting science to work for peace: A special issue in honor of Emile Bruneau.

“…Building on this approach, Casas and Hameiri (2022) provided a behind-the-scenes account of engaging in translational science by describing the research planning and scientist–practitioner partnerships behind Bruneau et al’s (2022) research in Colombia. McKeown et al (2022) described working with teachers to co-produce a theory-driven intervention aimed at improving intergroup relations among 11-year-old children in England. Mir & Bueno de Mesquita (2022) provided an overview of how peace psychology can be used on the ground by practitioners in areas of intractable conflict, such as in Kashmir.…”