Taken together, the five papers in this edition of CRiSTaLpoint to the need forbroad sweeping, deep transformations on the part ofuniversitieswho arecurrently driven by the priorities of a massified, marketised, performative,and usually under resourced global higher education system. Thepapersparticularly draw out how new challenges arise within the context of more technology-based learning. For example, technology infuseshowmorals,charactereducation,knowledge, skills,and values for social

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... ce can or cannot become embedded within curricula, pedagogy, administrativeprocesses, funding,and relationshipsbetween studentsplay out through higher education. In some respects,the five papers confirm what Davids and Whagid (2021:113)suggest is needed forprogress towards social justice in South African universities, which involves identifyingways in which the universities'studied,neglect to 'actualise learning possibilities for humanity' and drawing attention to structures, processesand practicesthat are(sometimes in ways accentuated by the pandemic)preoccupied'with massification and performativity'. Which, in many of their current forms are alienating for all students. However, in focusing ona critical issuewithin specificuniversity contexts, each paper in this journal identifies and unpacks anoppressive practice that is embedded within the South African system,but each paper also developsa degree of optimism,by identifying concepts and practices that do or could help us build towards greater social justice through higher education.