Jun 2026· International Journal of Multilingualism and Languages for Specific purposes· Vol 8, pp. 124-143· 0 citations
TL;DR
This research demonstrates how a pedagogy synergistically combining CDA with hands-on AI interaction fosters deeper digital citizenship, enhances critical thinking, and improves employability skills, and recommends curriculum design that reward critical engagement over mere output generation.
Abstract
The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into academia and industry necessitates a fundamental transformation of higher education curricula. Moving beyond purely technical proficiency, this paper proposes a comprehensive framework for embedding AI Literacy and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as transdisciplinary core competencies, positioning AI outputs not as neutral tools but as ideologically laden discourse requiring rigorous scrutiny. Drawing on a qualitative multiple-case study involving undergraduate Communication (n=45) and Business (n=38) courses at a Zambian university, this research demonstrates how a pedagogy synergistically combining CDA with hands-on AI interaction fosters deeper digital citizenship, enhances critical thinking, and improves employability skills. Over a three-week intervention, students applied Fairclough’s three-dimensional CDA model to AI-generated press releases and marketing content. The findings reveal three transformative outcomes: first, students adeptly identified embedded societal biases such as gendered leadership stereotypes; second, they reconceptualised AI from an authoritative “oracle” into a fallible, dialogic partner requiring ongoing interrogation; and third, they developed sophisticated, ethically-informed prompting strategies that directly corrected identified biases, a synergistic loop between critique and creation. This approach ensures graduates emerge as critical, innovative, and ethical producers rather than passive consumers of technology. The paper recommends curriculum design, including transdisciplinary modules, faculty development, open-access resources, and reformed assessment strategies that reward critical engagement over mere output generation.
The Responsible AI Literacy in Education (RAIL-Ed) framework is introduced, developed through a systematic review and qualitative framework analysis of 67 studies (2023-2025), grounded in critical, pragmatist, sociocultural, and human-centered traditions.
S. Hossain, S. Ahmadi, Leqi Li et al.· 0 citations
This systematic literature review critically examines the construct of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy as a foundational competency for the 21st-century workforce and educational landscape. As generative AI becomes inextricably linked with global economic and societal operations, the demand for sophisticated human-AI interaction frameworks has surged. Synthesizing contemporary peer-reviewed studies, international policy frameworks, and empirical data from 2020 to 2026, this review identifies the multidimensional nature of AI literacy, encompassing cognitive understanding, practical competency, and rigorous ethical evaluation. The findings highlight the critical role of AI literacy in fostering self-regulated learning in educational settings and boosting creative self-efficacy and productivity in the workforce. Furthermore, the study addresses significant systemic barriers, including the digital divide and the ethical imperatives to mitigate algorithmic bias and safeguard data privacy. Ultimately, this review proposes that AI literacy is no longer an isolated technical skill but a mandatory pillar of modern civic and professional competence, demanding immediate, equitable integration into global educational curricula and organizational training paradigms.
Cyrus D. Santiago· American Journal of Data Sci...· 0 citations
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping how university students search for information, write, create, communicate, and solve problems. In higher education, this situation requires not only operational skills for using AI tools, but also broader competencies such as critical evaluation, information literacy, ethical judgment, self-regulation, and collaborative reflection. This study examines a classroom practice using Personary, a digital mind-mapping platform with an optional AI-assisted mode, to explore how university students conceptualize competencies needed in the AI era. The activity was conducted at two Japanese universities. Students received a common instructional presentation on digital safety, misinformation, AI risks and benefits, cognitive bias, and digital well-being. They then discussed the question, “What competencies should university students develop in the AI era?” and created collaborative mind maps using Personary. Student-generated mind maps and written reflections were analyzed through interpretive map analysis and text-mining-assisted qualitative analysis. The results show that students understood AI-era competencies as multidimensional capacities rather than as technical skills alone. Their maps and reflections emphasized critical evaluation of AI-generated information, media and data literacy, autonomous thinking, communication, ethical responsibility, appropriate AI use, and adaptability. Personary supported the externalization and organization of these ideas, while the AI-assisted mode provided additional prompts for expanding selected branches. The study demonstrates how AI-supported mind mapping can function as a reflective learning activity for visualizing, sharing, and reorganizing students’ understanding of AI literacy in higher education.
This case study examines how students were positioned as experts in shaping artificial intelligence (AI) literacy curricula at a United Kingdom university. Academic staff, students and professional services collaborated to co-create an AI literacy framework with a focus on generative AI, addressing institutional and learner needs. Guided by partnership principles of reciprocity, respect and shared responsibility, the project responded to the opportunities and challenges of AI in higher education (HE).
Following a cross-disciplinary survey which captured student perceptions of generative AI use, two student partners were appointed; their roles evolved from research interns to co-designers and co-evaluators during this funded project. They have co-led focus groups with students, conducted data analysis and synthesis and undertaken peer consultation and evaluation to co-develop guidance resources on ethics, integrity, bias and responsible AI use.
Two key outputs resulted from this collaboration: a four-step AI literacy framework and an online tutorial which are now embedded in central pre-enrolment and academic skills programmes. Framing students as co-designers helped both 1) to enrich staff understanding of student perceptions of generative AI use for learning and 2) to enable the students to enhance their research, collaboration, communication and leadership skills. The study contributes to the current discourse on fostering critical, responsible AI literacies in HE through the lens of students as partners.
Nurun Nahar, David Howard, Kater Akeren et al.· Compass: Journal of Learning...· 0 citations
The rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools has significantly transformed academic writing practices in higher education. While AI technologies offer potential support for language learners, they also raise concerns regarding academic integrity and the erosion of students’ critical thinking, particularly in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classrooms where writing development and independent reasoning are core learning outcomes. This study explores Saudi TESOL teachers’ strategies for balancing AI use with academic integrity and critical thinking in Saudi higher education. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 EAP instructors at four Saudi universities. Data were analysed thematically to identify and interpret patterns of AI use and academic integrity challenges across participants’ responses. A tripartite framework integrating sociotechnical systems theory, academic integrity scholarship, and critical thinking pedagogy provides a theoretical lens for understanding teacher-mediated AI integration in TESOL contexts. Thematic findings revealed that teachers hold an optimistic yet cautious view of AI highlighting the critical role of guidance and reflection in AI-mediated environments. They employ an emergent, four-dimensional Connect–Guide–Reflect–Assess (CGRA) pedagogical framework to manage the tension between AI and integrity in language classrooms. They demand a shared responsibility between teachers and institutions through clear and consistent AI policies for curriculum, assessment and faculty professional development. This study contributes empirical, practitioner-generated evidence of how TESOL teachers in the Saudi context navigate AI in EAP classrooms. Grounded in participants’ accounts, the proposed CGRA framework offers language educators, curriculum designers, and institutional policymakers a replicable approach for navigating the AI era.
It is suggested that AI can enhance drafting, revision, and feedback processes, improving coherence, metacognition, and writing confidence, however, these benefits are accompanied by persistent concerns regarding ethical ambiguity, inconsistent policy guidance, and insufficient faculty training.
Samira Dichari, Fadi Jaber· Journal of Education and Tra...· 0 citations