Conflict resolution in a Halifax elementary school

Abstract

This thesis is an ethnographic study of conflict and conflict resolution at a Halifax elementary school. It describes the skills and techniques that students are taught at the school to handle their conflicts and the ethnomethods they actually use to resolve conflict with their peers. Using ethnoconflictology (Lederach 1998) as a framework for analysis, this thesis applies anthropological definitions of conflict, common sense, and local reality to understand the conflict resolution practices in the school. The practices presented are broken down into categories of institutional and operational conflict resolution for analysis. The participating research school is a Christian private school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and as such the influence of Christianity on their conflict resolution practices is also discussed. Conflict resolution and anthropology do not often cross in academic work, and therefore this thesis contributes to a new and growing body of ethnographic studies of conflict resolution.