EDITORIAL

Re-imagining Curriculum Enquiry/Inquiry in Times of Unprecedented Uncertainty

Lesley Le Grange^I; Suriamurthee Maistry^II; Shan Simmonds^III

^IStellenbosch University, South Africa. llg@sun.ac.za; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7096-3609
^IIUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Maistrys@ukzn.ac.za; http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9623-0078
^IIINorth-West University, South Africa. shan.simmonds@nwu.ac.za; http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5005-9906

Inequality, in all its multiple manifestations ("race", economic, gender, educational), is an enduring feature of societies across the world. Arguably, the most significant and telling feature of contemporary times is the condition of uncertainty, yet at the same time, there remains an intuitive certainty that inequality, in all its guises, is not likely to be disrupted in any substantive way in the next decade. While there is recognition that education is a key lever in a complex machinery that should drive the agenda for equality, it raises the question as to what and where curriculum enquiry/inquiry and pedagogy researchers (in particular) should direct their scholarly energies, and from where they might draw theoretical inspiration.

Curriculum enquiry/inquiry as a scholarly project in South Africa appears to have been largely dominated by two broad approaches. These approaches might be categorised as ones that perceive extant knowledge as accretive, with limited consideration for its genesis. The second, sociopolitical approach, emphasises the nature of the knowledge receiver/consumer and the curriculum context within which the knowledge transaction happens. The recent return to vogue of decolonial imperatives has seen a shift in focus to the nature and genesis of knowledge itself. What seems certain is that curriculum enquiry/inquiry and pedagogy should respond (differently) to the multiple crises and uncertainty of present times, and that the response must of necessity be a (post)critical response.

In the opening article, Hlatshwayo draws attention to how neoliberal principles are shaping higher education institutions and offers insights for a more inclusive decolonial curriculum. Bozalek's posthumanist take challenges the notion of uncertainty, arguing instead for an understanding of space/time indeterminacy and what this might mean for curriculum studies as open and in becoming. Du Preez, Le Grange and Simmonds apply insights from critical posthumanism for a rethinking of curriculum studies in the posthuman condition, while Maistry examines research supervision practices of senior academics as they give effect to their critical care work in the context of neoliberal constraint. In the final article, Mudaly and Sanjigadu appropriate from Southern theory to explore science teachers' use of indigenous knowledge to address sustainable development goals.

We would like to acknowledge all the authors for their contributions in thinking anew and re-imagining curriculum inquiry in times of unprecedented uncertainty/indeterminacy in provocative ways that initiate complicated conversations. We would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and recommendations.