In an era of sweeping changes in education and a pandemic that seems to be driving actions, how do we create space for perceptions and understanding of realities that seem to be outliers from the predominant norms? Living under a pandemic, in which the realities of a reduction of borders are amplified, requires rethinking curriculum within and across contexts. In fact, arguments by Cruz, Madden and Asante (2018) that there is an increasing diversity of onto-epistemology, even within a single society, have become more obvious. As such, there are multiple ways of knowing and being within and across societies. As we engage in rethinking and reshaping curriculum in a multiplicity of contexts, illustrating the complexities of the field of curriculum studies and giving voice to the work of those who are othered is therefore critical.

This special issue – conceptualised within the American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies’ (AAACS’s) Taskforce on the Internationalisation of Curriculum Studies – seeks to survey, analyse, translate (where necessary), interpret and share on the work of curriculum theorists, scholars and contributors who work outside of the North American field. The aim is to share the work of curriculum studies that go beyond traditionally hegemonic contexts.

This special issue views curriculum as the thread for weaving and embracing conceptions, interpretations, ontology, epistemology, translation and social structures that often seem similar at first glance, yet are dissimilar based on their sites of contestation and social embeddedness. In this issue we seek to articulate voices from different parts of the globe, to provide the reader with the rich essence of curriculum that resides in the multiplicity and uniqueness of voices and contexts. The papers will seek to help readers value our diversity in theoretical, geographical and individual curriculum traditions, as we seek to advance dialogues about curriculum across borders and spaces to provide an education that liberates and to avoid epistemicide.

We welcome proposals for papers for inclusion in the special issue that address the following themes:

• indigenous curriculum translation
• curriculum inquiry and the epistemicide
• democracy and reform pedagogy – political agendas, expected outcomes, notions of the good society
• teacher, curriculum and schooling practices
• indigenous epistemologies and the urgency of cross-border transmissions
• media and the curriculum; social media and curriculum
• student voices and educational opportunities
• community engagement; the reciprocal relationship of families, public and private organisations, churches (and so on) in curriculum making.

Proposals may also address other areas that are associated with the abstract of the call without being listed above as a strand.

Important dates and publication timeline

• Deadline for proposal submission: 1 April 2021.
• Acceptance of proposal received by: 30 April 2021
• Authors submit first draft of full-length paper: 30 June 2021
• Submission of second draft: 30 October 2021
• Submission of final manuscript: 15 December 2021
• Publication date: March 2022

Proposals should be 250–500 words in length and be submitted by the deadline of 1 April 2021 to the guest editors of this special issue, Dr Carmel Roofe (University of the West Indies, carmel.roofebowen@uwimona.edu.jm) and Professor Todd Alan Price (National Louis University, TPrice@nl.edu).

The final manuscripts should normally be between 6,000 and 8,000 words, excluding tables, references, captions, footnotes and endnotes. Each paper will be reviewed by the editors and put through the double-blind peer review process of the journal.