Journal article
Navigating AI’s educational future: expert scenarios and implications for teaching and teacher preparation
Joyce Malyn-Smith, Jodie Torrington, Mary Webb, Deirdre Butler, Jihyun Lee, Peter Tiernan, Yousra Chtouki, Matt Bower, Manal Yazbak Abu Ahmad, Ana Amélia Carvalho, Jonathan D Cohen, Pierre Gorissen, Tanya Linden, Kathryn MacCallum, Juliana E Raffagheli, Fredrik Mørk Røkenes, Martina Ronci, Chris Shelton, David Smith, Henriikka Vartiainen
Computers and Education Open | Elsevier BV | Published : 2026
Open access
Abstract
This paper presents expert perspectives derived from a visioning activity conducted by an international panel of educational researchers from 13 countries and 18 institutions, working under Thematic Working Group 5 for UNESCO’s EDUsummIT 2025. Using a futures thinking approach, the experts co-constructed six scenarios imagining AI-enriched educational environments in 2030 across primary, secondary, technical, and higher education sectors. Reflexive thematic analysis of these expert-generated artefacts identified 12 cross-cutting themes. Three meta-patterns emerged: the more-human paradox, in which AI saturation intensifies rather than displaces human pedagogical work; the agency-scaffolding ..
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