Empowering Learners for the Age of AI
An AI Literacy Framework for Primary and Secondary Education
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a widely used tool in our everyday life, including for learning, personalised assistance, and entertainment. Therefore, young people must be able to understand how AI works, its societal impact, and how to use it ethically in order to be prepared for a society and economy in the age of AI.
Why AI Literacy?
AI literacy empowers learners to understand AI and make decisions about its use in meaningful and ethical ways. When integrated thoughtfully into learning, AI provides new opportunities to exercise critical thinking and creative expression.
To fully realize this potential, we must address key barriers to AI literacy implementation, including:
- A lack of a shared understanding of AI literacy and how to teach it.
- Uncertainty about how AI fits into various subject areas.
“Integrating AI literacy into education is essential to equip students with the critical thinking skills necessary to understand, interact with, and innovate using digital technologies, preparing them to contribute meaningfully to society”
Intended Audience
for the Framework
This framework is designed for teachers, education leaders, education policymakers, and learning designers. It outlines competences and learning scenarios to inform learning materials, standards, school-wide initiatives, and responsible AI policies for primary and secondary education settings.
Teacher
“I need to know how AI can help my students learn and how I can integrate AI literacy into my curriculum during my full school day.”
Education Leader
“I want to develop AI literacy initiatives for my school or professional organization and am looking for easy-to-follow guidance.”
Education Policymaker
“I help shape AI literacy initiatives to ensure learners and educators are ready for the age of AI, and I want practical, research-backed advice to guide policies.”
Learning Designer
“I design instructional content and train teachers, and I want to include AI literacy as a key feature in my resources.”
“AI literacy should be part of every learner’s journey, with educators playing a key role in making AI meaningful. By helping students understand and engage with AI in ways that reflect their local context, we can support more inclusive, future-ready education systems around the world.”
Key Features of the Framework
Foundational
Define a core set of competences needed to demonstrate proficiency in AI literacy.
Interdisciplinary
Integrate AI literacy into a wide range of subjects and educational settings.
Illustrative
Include scenarios and exemplars that bring AI literacy to life.
Practical
Make AI literacy manageable and attainable in various classroom contexts.
Global
Incorporate insights from educators, researchers, and AI experts worldwide.
Durable
Identify knowledge and skills that will remain relevant as AI evolves.
A Common Effort to Advance AI Literacy
Empowering Learners for the Age of AI: An AILit Framework for Primary and Secondary Education is a joint initiative of the European Commission (EC) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Code.org and leading international experts support its development.
The initiative contributes to the innovative domain of the PISA 2029 Media and AI Literacy (MAIL) assessment, the European Union’s long-term goals to promote quality and inclusive digital education and skills, and the objectives of the Digital Education Action Plan 2021 – 2027.
