AI competency frameworks for school students and teachers

As part of its broader “AI and the Futures of Learning" initiative, UNESCO is now developing  AI competency frameworks for both teachers and students for school education. 

The draft AI Competency Frameworks for school students and teachers have been presented during Digital Learning Week in September 2023.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has recently become a central focus of public and media attention. Yet, UNESCO has been monitoring the disruptive implications of AI for education as part of its foresight function over the past several years and providing guidance for both policy and practice. The 2019 Beijing Consensus on Artificial Intelligence and Education, in particular, offers guidance and recommendations on harnessing AI technologies to achieve the Education 2030 Agenda. It recognizes “the emergence of a set of AI literacy skills required for effective human–machine collaboration” and recommends to “take institutional actions to enhance AI literacy across all layers of society”. It also considers that while teachers cannot be displaced by machines, it has become critical “dynamically review and define teachers’ roles and required competencies in the context of teacher policies, strengthen teacher training institutions, and develop appropriate capacity-building programmes to prepare teachers to work effectively in AI-rich education settings."

• The AI competency framework for teachers will define the knowledge, skills and attitudes that teachers should possess to understand the roles of AI in education and utilize AI in their teaching practices in an ethical and effective manner.
• The AI competency framework for school students will articulate the knowledge, skills and attitudes students should acquire to understand and actively engage with AI in a safe and meaningful manner in education and beyond.

Both frameworks are guided by human rights principles and the need to protect human dignity and privacy and strengthen human agency.

• 2021: Global survey on government-endorsed K-12 AI curricula conducted.
• 2022: K-12 AI curricula: a mapping of government-endorsed AI curricula report.
• 2023 [underway]: Global survey on the governmental use of AI as a public good for education, including existing AI competency frameworks or training programmes on AI for teachers.
• June-July 2023: Call for contributions on the definition of Algorithm Literacy and Data Literacy
• September 2023: Drafts of the two AI competency frameworks will be presented and further refined during Digital Learning Week (4-7 September 2023).
• Two frameworks will be released during Digital Learning Week 2024