This paper considers educational futures from the perspective of social justice. It takes as its framework futures studies, which looks at what is probable (what is likely to happen), what is possible (what could happen), and what is preferable (what we would like to see/make happen). It also makes the case for science fiction as a method of…

Critical pedagogy emphasizes the inseparability of politics and education (Freire, 2012; hooks, 1994). However, many strands of critical pedagogy are focused on ideological critique of elements of Modernity such as racism, sexism, colonialism, extractivism, and domination which are treated as unintended errors or ancillary conditions. That is,…

This article constellates N.K Jemisin's "The Broken Earth" trilogy with decolonial epistemologies to push the boundaries of storied curricula and explore how we come to know. I argue that the imaginative world-building of science fiction can serve as worlding stories--not wording stories--that act, move, and connect knowledge,…

"After the end of the world" is a speculative concept used to imagine what life could be after the world "ends" envisioning a new world that does not currently exist. Taking up Gumbs' metaphor, this essay explores what education could be "after the end of school," imaging a world beyond education as we know it to be.…

This paper reflects on the classroom use of the "Star Trek" American science fiction television franchise to teach critical and emotional geographies to undergraduates specializing in science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM). Both science fiction and STEM education are ambivalent and contradictory scenes of social…

Science fiction literature and film are an underappreciated source for the teaching of history. Finding material that can excite a student's curiosity can be a key towards greater student engagement, especially among students who are taking history as a requirement, rather than from interest. The discovery that they can read or watch science…

This essay offers a rationale for deploying ecofeminist science fiction stories as object-oriented thought experiments in science and environmental education, with particular reference to developments in genetics and evolutionary biology, and their implications for human (and more-than-human) reproduction and kinship in the period following the…

This study examines the experiences of 10 neurodiverse students in Amsterdam, Netherlands, who all participated within in-class youth-led book clubs that centered science fiction. Over a 6-month period, the researcher conducted pre- and post-interviews and analyzed these along with transcription data from 24 book club sessions. Findings reveal…

Technologies have become an essential part of the daily life of our children. Consequently, artifacts that imply the early adoption of abstract thinking affect the imagination of children and young people in relation to the world of technology, now much more than they did in the past. With the emerging importance of robots in many aspects of our…

In this article, N.K. Jemisin's multiple-Hugo-award-winning trilogy "The Broken Earth" (2015-2017) is read with Sylvia Wynter's genealogy of who counts as human, and Donna Haraway's conception of the "Chthulucene," a spatiotemporal location in which all beings are interconnected with each other. The article argues that…

"The Ballad of Proxima-B" is an educational RPG that promotes learning and collaboration. Students contribute to world-building and game mechanics, creating fictional worlds and characters, including a dystopian Earth, the planet Proxima-B, and alien races. The game incorporates constructivist, constructionist, and Dynamic Systems Model…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to further theorize BlackCrit to include a deeper focus on the framing idea of Black liberatory fantasy via Afrofuturism. Design/methodology/approach: To develop the theoretical connections, the author revisits their previous scholarship on Black girls' Afrofuturist storytelling practices to elucidate how the…

Instead of seeking the slick aesthetics of consumer-friendly creative stories, this paper ventures to the sublime of the incomprehensible and invites us to look into the abyss of education's possibilities. Drawing inspiration from Jeff Vandermeer's 2017 novel, "Borne," and filmmaker David Cronenberg's aesthetic, this paper aims to tell a…

Science fiction conventions are places where individuals with an interest in diverse genres and mediums can engage with a community that bridges the world of science fiction and fact. Many of these conventions provide a science "track" where science experts share their expertise and research on scientific findings and applications of…

We are becoming more and more aware of the marks our human existence is leaving on our global environment: the Anthropocene as discourse of that awareness is turning into a living and lived-in reality. I argue that such discourse cannot remain the purview of the natural and social sciences alone: culture must be recognized in its pivotal role of…