ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the different ways in which professionals working in and with schools can engage with research in order to support the creation of a culture of positive peace. On behalf of the Department for Education, Scott and McNeish have published a clear guiding document for school leaders on the ways in which schools can usefully and meaningfully engage with research. They distinguish two ways for schools to do this: to know about and apply existing research-based evidence; and to engage in their own practice-based research. A simple and time-efficient method for gathering a broad picture of people's experiences and perceptions is to use a survey. Photo-voice is one methodology that can be enormously interesting and useful in researching how students and staff feel about violence, conflict and peace in schools. Appreciative inquiry is one methodology that has been successfully applied both to the formulation and the evaluation of peace programmes.
