Scholars interested in contributing are invited to submit abstracts or enquiries directly to the editor.

Dr Lokesh Ramnath Maharajh

University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)

Email: maharajhlr@ukzn.ac.za

Call for Chapters

Proposed Edited Volume

Beyond the Classroom: Education, History, and Curriculum Transformations for Addressing Racial Tensions in South African Schools

Editors:        Dr Lokesh Ramnath Maharajh (University of KwaZulu-Natal)

Dr Nomkhosi Nzimande (University of KwaZulu-Natal)

Dr Makhosi Shoba (University of KwaZulu-Natal)

Proposed Publisher: University of Johannesburg Press (UJ Press)

Overview

More than thirty years into South Africa’s democratic dispensation, racial tensions continue to surface in schools in ways that disrupt teaching and learning, fracture school communities, and reveal the incomplete nature of social transformation. While access to schooling has expanded and policy commitments to non-racialism are firmly in place, everyday practices in schools continue to reflect deeply embedded historical, structural, and epistemic inequalities.

Schools remain key sites where unresolved histories of colonialism and apartheid are reproduced, negotiated, and contested through curriculum content, institutional culture, disciplinary practices, and interpersonal relations. Racial conflict in schools should therefore not be understood as isolated behavioural incidents, but as symptomatic of enduring inequalities and inherited forms of knowledge, identity, and power.

This edited volume responds to the need for historically grounded, theoretically rigorous, and research-driven scholarship that critically examines race, racism, and curriculum transformation in South African schooling. In line with UJ Press’s commitment to socially relevant and critically engaged scholarship, the volume moves beyond celebratory multiculturalism and surface-level diversity discourses, foregrounding instead critical engagements with the myth of race, decolonial curriculum debates, and anti-racist pedagogies.

The volume brings together historical, conceptual, and empirical contributions that explore how race continues to shape schooling, while also identifying possibilities for meaningful curriculum transformation, restorative justice, and democratic educational futures. Although grounded in the South African context, the book situates local experiences within broader global and comparative debates on racism, education, and social justice.

Focus and Scope

The editors invite original chapter proposals that engage critically with education, history, curriculum, and race, including (but not limited to) the following themes:

          Historical Foundations and the Myth of Race

·                  Historical construction of race in South African education

·                  Scientific racism, apartheid schooling, and contemporary legacies

·                  Schools as sites of memory and historical transmission

          Conceptual and Theoretical Frameworks

·                  Critical race theory, decolonial and postcolonial perspectives

·                  Race, class, culture, and intersectionality in schooling

·                  Critiques of multiculturalism and rainbowism

          Curriculum, Knowledge, and Classroom Practice

·                  Curriculum transformation and epistemic justice

·                  History education and contested pasts

·                  Knowledge hierarchies, Eurocentrism, and indigenous knowledge systems

          Teacher Agency, Teacher Education, and Unions

·                  Teacher identity, beliefs, and race consciousness

·                  Anti-racist and decolonial teacher education

·                  Teacher unions and educational transformation

          Learner Experiences and Youth Identity

·                  Learner voices, peer relations, and identity formation

·                  Youth agency, belonging, and resistance

·                  Language, culture, and everyday schooling experiences

6.       Conflict, Mediation, and Restorative Justice

·                  Racial conflict and mediation in schools

·                  Restorative justice approaches to education

·                  Critical engagement with intervention frameworks

          Schools, Families, and Community Contexts

·                  School–community relations and racialised spaces

·                  Intergenerational memory and family narratives

·                  Spatial inequality and schooling

          Comparative and International Perspectives

·                  Comparative studies on racism and education

·                  Global South and international case studies

·                  International curriculum reform debates

          Policy Directions and Systemic Reform

·                  Education policy and racial inequality

·                  Institutional culture and systemic change

·                  Education, citizenship, and democratic futures

Methodological Orientation

Contributions should demonstrate strong conceptual and methodological rigour. Appropriate approaches include:

·                  Historical and archival research

·                  Sociological and ethnographic studies

·                  Critical curriculum and policy analysis

·                  Qualitative empirical research

·                  Comparative and international studies

·                  Discourse and textual analysis

Practice-oriented chapters are welcome where they are analytically grounded and theoretically informed.

Intended Contributors

The volume welcomes contributions from established and emerging scholars in:

·                  Curriculum studies and history education

·                  Sociology and philosophy of education

·                  Critical race, decolonial, and citizenship studies

·                  Teacher education and education policy

Interdisciplinary perspectives are encouraged.

Submission Guidelines

Abstracts

·                  300–400 words

·                  Should clearly indicate the chapter’s focus, theoretical framework, methodology, and scholarly contribution

Full Chapters (by invitation)

·                  7,000–8,000 words (including references)

·                  Original work not under review elsewhere

·                  All chapters will be subject to a double-blind peer review process, in line with UJ Press standards

Provisional Timeline

·                  Call for Abstracts: 28 February 2026

·                  Notification of Acceptance: 31 May 2026

·                  Full Chapter Submission: 30 September 2026

·                  Peer Review: October to December 2026

·                  Final Revised Chapters: 15 February 2026

Publisher Fit and Contribution

The volume aligns with UJ Press’s focus on critical scholarship that addresses pressing social issues in South Africa and beyond. It contributes to debates on democracy, social justice, curriculum transformation, and citizenship, and supports broader educational and societal transformation agendas, including SDG 4.7.

Contact Details

Lead Editor:

Dr Lokesh Ramnath Maharajh

University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)

Email: maharajhlr@ukzn.ac.za

Scholars interested in contributing are invited to submit abstracts or enquiries directly to the editor.