Enacting the Future 3 Curriculum : ‘curriculum making’ and participatory methods as drivers of critical and transformative education

Abstract

This presentation explores the reconceptualisation of school knowledge through the ‘Three Futures’ heuristic, advocating for a Future 3 curriculum where specialised disciplinary structures serve as dynamic tools for human agency. Drawing on qualitative research, the study illustrates how teachers and lecturers can act as ‘curriculum makers’, transforming powerful knowledge into accessible pedagogical representations. Central to this enactment are participatory methods that facilitate engagement with transformative threshold concepts. By anchoring active learning in robust disciplinary frameworks, this approach provides students with the dispositional capacity to critique authoritative claims and envision alternative social futures within an inclusive and supportive learning climate.