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School Development and AI Agency Research Lab (SD-AI)
The SD-AI Research Lab investigates how AI can be integrated into school development and what forms of agency and accountability emerge in this socio-technical environment. The goal is to develop a theoretical model of the role of AI and collective responsibility and to test it empirically through research syntheses, workshops with interdisciplinary experts, and an experimental study involving school stakeholders. In the long term, this is expected to result in practical guidelines that support the responsible use of AI to ensure and further develop school quality.
Funding
College for Social Sciences and Humanities, University Alliance Ruhr
Project description
The School Development and AI Agency Research Lab (SD-AI) provides research on school development, considering the role of agency in implementing artificial intelligence (AI) at different levels in schools. Using AI and applying it for various purposes in the school system creates a socio-technical environment in which the attribution of agency of AI systems occurs. The overarching question is: Can epistemic accountability be ensured in complex socio-technical environments when AI is used in the school system?
The main objectives:
a) To elaborate a theoretical model on the role of AI in the field of school development on different levels of the school system and collective responsibilities in a socio-technical environment, and
b) To empirically evaluate core assumptions of the theoretical model and AI accountability in school development.
To achieve these objectives, a research review deriving a theoretical model of school development and AI accountability will be composed. With experts from interdisciplinary fields, this theoretical model will be validated and improved through workshops combining lectures from international guest scholars and in-depth discussions about the theoretical model with national experts. Moreover, an experimental design study with teachers and school principals will be conducted to explore the use of AI in schools for specific areas of school development under controlled conditions with explicit awareness of perceptions, potential for action, and credibility of AI, compared to uncontrolled AI use.
SD-AI will serve as a starting point for further investigations of the challenges and potentials for AI integration in schools, understanding the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders at different levels of the school system, and, most importantly, deriving practical knowledge and guidelines that are expected to establish AI as an essential tool for maintaining and fostering school quality in a joint effort at all levels.
Lead researcher at IFS
External project partners
- Dr. Manuela Endberg (University of Duisburg-Essen, Faculty of Educational Sciences)