A hidden curriculum of certainty: Inadequate education in an uncertain world

As educators in university education departments, we want to teach about the complex and contested nature of education and society. Furthermore, we are very conscious that our planetary predicament calls for different ways of thinking. Despite all this, we often find that students just want ‘the right answer’. They have been through test-based schooling (Ball, 2017) and are trying to find the rules of the game where they sense that their degree certificate will be based on them giving ‘the right answer’. It seems there is a hidden curriculum of certainty throughout our education system. This blog post focuses on how a hidden curriculum of certainty ill-prepares students for the uncertain world in which we live. Uncertainty permeates all aspects of life although it is particularly and increasingly pertinent in relation to our planetary predicament of climate breakdown, mass extinction and global injustice.