Auditing AI Literacy Competency in K–12 Education: The Role of Awareness, Ethics, Evaluation, and Use in Human–Machine Cooperation

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education highlights the growing need for AI literacy among K–12 teachers, particularly to enable effective human–machine cooperation. This study investigates Saudi K–12 educators’ AI literacy competencies across four key dimensions: awareness, ethi...

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Main Author: Ahlam Mohammed Al-Abdullatif
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Systems
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/13/6/490
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author Ahlam Mohammed Al-Abdullatif
author_facet Ahlam Mohammed Al-Abdullatif
author_sort Ahlam Mohammed Al-Abdullatif
collection DOAJ
description The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education highlights the growing need for AI literacy among K–12 teachers, particularly to enable effective human–machine cooperation. This study investigates Saudi K–12 educators’ AI literacy competencies across four key dimensions: awareness, ethics, evaluation, and use. Using a survey of 426 teachers and analyzing the data through descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM), this study found high overall literacy levels, with ethics scoring the highest and use slightly lower, indicating a modest gap between knowledge and application. The SEM results indicated that awareness significantly influenced ethics, evaluation, and use, positioning it as a foundational competency. Ethics also strongly predicted both evaluation and use, while evaluation contributed positively to use. These findings underscore AI literacy skills’ interconnected nature and point to the importance of integrating ethical reasoning and critical evaluation into teacher training. This study provides evidence-based guidance for educational policymakers and leaders in designing professional development programs that prepare teachers for effective and responsible AI integration in K–12 education.
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spelling doaj-art-7d60d05299d142ec9b63e1eb6a6596c82025-08-20T02:21:50ZengMDPI AGSystems2079-89542025-06-0113649010.3390/systems13060490Auditing AI Literacy Competency in K–12 Education: The Role of Awareness, Ethics, Evaluation, and Use in Human–Machine CooperationAhlam Mohammed Al-Abdullatif0Department of Curriculum and Instruction, King Faisal University (KFU), Al-Hasa P.O. Box 400, Saudi ArabiaThe integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education highlights the growing need for AI literacy among K–12 teachers, particularly to enable effective human–machine cooperation. This study investigates Saudi K–12 educators’ AI literacy competencies across four key dimensions: awareness, ethics, evaluation, and use. Using a survey of 426 teachers and analyzing the data through descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM), this study found high overall literacy levels, with ethics scoring the highest and use slightly lower, indicating a modest gap between knowledge and application. The SEM results indicated that awareness significantly influenced ethics, evaluation, and use, positioning it as a foundational competency. Ethics also strongly predicted both evaluation and use, while evaluation contributed positively to use. These findings underscore AI literacy skills’ interconnected nature and point to the importance of integrating ethical reasoning and critical evaluation into teacher training. This study provides evidence-based guidance for educational policymakers and leaders in designing professional development programs that prepare teachers for effective and responsible AI integration in K–12 education.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/13/6/490AI literacycompetencehuman–machine cooperationK–12 education system
spellingShingle Ahlam Mohammed Al-Abdullatif
Auditing AI Literacy Competency in K–12 Education: The Role of Awareness, Ethics, Evaluation, and Use in Human–Machine Cooperation
Systems
AI literacy
competence
human–machine cooperation
K–12 education system
title Auditing AI Literacy Competency in K–12 Education: The Role of Awareness, Ethics, Evaluation, and Use in Human–Machine Cooperation
title_full Auditing AI Literacy Competency in K–12 Education: The Role of Awareness, Ethics, Evaluation, and Use in Human–Machine Cooperation
title_fullStr Auditing AI Literacy Competency in K–12 Education: The Role of Awareness, Ethics, Evaluation, and Use in Human–Machine Cooperation
title_full_unstemmed Auditing AI Literacy Competency in K–12 Education: The Role of Awareness, Ethics, Evaluation, and Use in Human–Machine Cooperation
title_short Auditing AI Literacy Competency in K–12 Education: The Role of Awareness, Ethics, Evaluation, and Use in Human–Machine Cooperation
title_sort auditing ai literacy competency in k 12 education the role of awareness ethics evaluation and use in human machine cooperation
topic AI literacy
competence
human–machine cooperation
K–12 education system
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/13/6/490
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