Our research indicates that the landscape of responsible AI use in education is uneven. Tight school budgets necessitate careful planning for teachers’ professional development, prompting us to consider how universities might play a role in training and preparing new teachers on the responsible use of AI in education.

We were recently invited to run a workshop on the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) for primary educators, organised by the UK Historical Association and the Royal Geographical Association. Our workshop aimed to explore what responsible AI use means from the perspective of educators in primary education and to encourage teachers to reflect on practices they consider responsible. In this blog post we share two key themes from the workshop and our own reflections on the role university can play in shaping next steps.

Gaps in understanding AI and its usage

When asked about their understanding of what responsible use of AI might involve based on their own experience, the teachers agreed that this was a relatively new concept in primary education and that they knew little about how pupils engage with technologies that involve AI in their homes. The teachers were also unsure about how much children and their parents/guardians know and understand about the technologies and applications they use in their homes that are driven by AI or whether they are aware of the potential risks associated with it (see figure 1). We discussed AI as part of the many technologies and applications that we interact with every day, and responsible use of AI doesn’t only apply to Generative AI. Games, video-sharing platforms (such as YouTube), social media apps (such as Snapchat, TikTok) and online education platforms are all powered by AI.

Figure 1: One group of teachers’ responses to the prompt, ‘What responsible use of AI in your classroom involves’

We discussed how AI literacy in practice needs to incorporate critical understandings of everyday AI experiences and AI in formal professional settings (see Long & Magerko, 2020). Teachers at the workshop felt that while attentions are given to how AI can be of use in formal education such as using AI for learning academic subjects and school administration work, in order to achieve responsible use of AI, children’s everyday AI experiences need to be incorporated in teaching and learning of AI. To make this meaningful, teachers suggested that there needs to be a focus on children’s rights, safety and wellbeing, and that this work should be developed collaboratively with children, young people, parents/guardians and other key stakeholders.

Gaps in national and international frameworks and practices

A significant resource that stimulated much discussion among the teachers in the workshop was the report ‘AI, Children’s Rights, & Wellbeing: Transnational Frameworks’. This review examining 13 frameworks published since 2018 identified three critical areas of responsible AI policies that have been largely overlooked concerning children’s wellbeing: the opportunities and benefits to children, the risks and harms they face, and the specific needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable children (Mahomed, 2023).

Teachers at the workshop outlined and discussed the key stakeholders they felt should be working closely with educators to truly appreciate responsible use of AI from children’s and teachers’ perspectives (see figure 1). We know national and international frameworks play a crucial role in shaping the policies and laws that govern emerging technologies like AI (see for example Cath, 2018). These policies and laws not only hold key stakeholders accountable but also influence social practices in both direct and indirect ways. As educators, knowing and being able to respond to current policy work as a practitioner is vital, and yet we felt, with the educators at our session, that education is often the consumer of emerging technologies; opportunities for input by teachers and young people in early stages of policy development are limited.

The role of educators and initial teacher education

‘Initial teacher education is crucial in preparing new teachers to address the identified gaps and to equip both teachers and pupils to use AI responsibly in the classroom and in their everyday lives.’

A recurring message from our session was the need for opportunities and forums that bring together children, parents/guardians, educators, researchers and other key stakeholders to address existing and potential gaps in responsible use of AI. We believe that universities, as local anchors of teacher education and knowledge exchange, can provide such forums. Initial teacher education is crucial in preparing new teachers to address the identified gaps and to equip both teachers and pupils to use AI responsibly in the classroom and in their everyday lives. Findings from Louise’s PhD research highlight the importance of developing student teachers’ pedagogical knowledge regarding digital literacy (see Wheatcroft, 2019). This involves evaluating how digital tools are employed in contemporary literacy practices within schools (pupils, teachers) and beyond.

As we navigate the complexities of AI in education, it is essential to recognise that the responsible use of AI is a collective responsibility. Educators, children, parents/guardians, policymakers and AI developers must work together to ensure that children can engage with AI technologies safely. By exploring and addressing together the gaps in understanding, policy and practice, we can create an educational landscape that not only harnesses the power of AI but also prioritises the rights and wellbeing of all children.

References

Cath, C. (2018). Governing artificial intelligence: Ethical, legal and technical opportunities and challenges. Royal Society, 376(2133). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2018.0080

Long, D., & Magerko, B. (2020). What is AI literacy? Competencies and design considerations. CHI’20: Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1–16). https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.33767

Mahomed, S., Aitken, M., Atabey, A., Wong, J., & Briggs, M. (2023). AI, children’s rights, & wellbeing: Transnational frameworks. The Alan Turing Institute. https://www.turing.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-12/ai-childrens_rights-_wellbeing-transnational_frameworks_report.pdf

Wheatcroft, L. (2019). Student teachers’ pedagogical knowledge building in relation to teaching digital literacy (Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Birmingham City University). https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/11837/1/Louise%20Wheatcroft%20PhD%20Final%20corrected%20Thesis.pdf