Call for Special Issue-Artificial Intelligence and Education

2024-01-28

THEME: Artificial Intelligence in Education: Embracing Change, Addressing Challenges, and Shaping Tomorrow's Curriculum.

Guest Editors:  Prof. Bekithemba Dube
                             bdube@cut.ac.za 
                             Centre for Diversity in Higher Education
                             Central University of Technology\
                             Republic of South Africa

                             Prof. Wendy Setlalentoa
                             wsetlale@cut.ac.za
                             Dean, Faculty of Humanities
                             Central University of Technology
                             Republic of South Africa

BACKGROUND  

With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), integrating this advanced technology has become a pivotal topic of discussion and research. As Harry (2023) highlighted, AI's role in education spans from personalised learning paths to automated administrative tasks, signalling a transformative shift in educational processes. Yet, the extent and manner of AI's integration into educational systems vary significantly, raising questions about its long-term impact, ethical considerations, and the role of educators in this new paradigm. Lampou (2023) emphasises the potential of AI in personalising education but also cautions against issues such as data privacy and algorithmic bias, which could lead to unequal access and outcomes in education.  

As observed by Kim et al. (2021) and Olari and Romeike (2021), the evolving curriculum in educational institutions is increasingly incorporating AI literacy to prepare students for a future dominated by AI technologies. This shift brings forth the critical question of how AI can support, rather than supplant, human educators in their roles. The disparity in AI integration across different education systems worldwide further complicates the picture, highlighting global educational inequalities and the readiness of current educational infrastructures to support AI-driven learning. These disparities could potentially widen the gap between the digitally advanced and the less technologically equipped educational institutions.

Addressing these challenges and opportunities, this special issue aims to delve into AI's long-term implications, ethical dimensions, and practical challenges in education. It seeks to explore the balance between AI and human teaching, assess the global disparities in AI adoption, and discuss the necessary curriculum changes and policy adaptations. Contributions from research papers, case studies, review articles, opinions, and conceptual and theoretical views are invited to enrich the discourse, aiming to shape a more informed and equitable future for AI in education, as envisioned. This special issue thus stands as a critical platform for examining the multifaceted role of AI in education and its potential to revolutionise the educational landscape.

CONTRIBUTION PROCESS

Prospective contributors are invited to submit abstracts to the guest editors at bdube@cut.ac.za and copy wsetlale@cut.ac.za using the subject line “Artificial Intelligence in Education”. A prompt response will be provided within three to five days, and if accepted, author(s) will be requested to prepare and submit their full manuscripts, and if otherwise, the authors will be notified accordingly. For submission guidelines and Article Processing Charges, including formatting and referencing style, please refer to the author guidelines provided at this link [https://pubs.ufs.ac.za/index.php/ijer/guidelines].

ABSTRACTS FOR PAPERS SHOULD INCLUDE

  • A concise title
  • Author/s name/s
  • Author(s) institution/affiliation
  • Contact details
  • An abstract (250 words or less)
  • Five keywords

TIMEFRAME (January 28th – August 30th 2024) 

  • Abstract submission begins on the 28th of February and ends on the 30th of March 2024.
  • Abstracts are accepted or rejected within three days of submission, and if accepted, you will be required to submit your full article.
  • Submission of full articles starts immediately and ends on the 30th of August, 2024
  • The Journal operates on a continuous publishing model. This means that articles are considered individually, sent for peer review, and, if accepted at any time of the year, are immediately made available online on an article-by-article basis.

AUTHOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES

  • A similarity index of 10% or less is required for an article to be considered for review. Upon submission, all articles will undergo screening using Turnitin software.
  • The Article Processing Charge is payable by the corresponding author or affiliation(s), as applicable, upon acceptance. Authors eligible for a waiver or discount may approach the Journal before submission. For more information, see the APC waiver and discount policy at [https://pubs.ufs.ac.za/index.php/ijer/waiverpolicy].
  • Please visit the author guidelines, download, and use the submission template for your full article.

GUEST EDITORS’ PROFILE

  1. Bekithemba Dube is a full Professor in curriculum studies at Central University of Technology (CUT). He holds PhD in Curriculum Studies from the University of the Free State. He has written extensively on the area of Curriculum, Politics and Religion in the post-colonial African context. He has published over 120 articles and book chapters in accredited journals in the past six years. He has successfully edited three books on curriculum, politics and religion and edited four special issues on education in various accredited Journals. He is currently Editor-in-Chief for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Rural and Community Studies, Section Editor for the Research in Social Science and Technology Journal, Associate Editor of the E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and associate editor for the E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies all accredited indexed DHET accredited list. He has served as an Acting Head of the Department for Education Foundation and Head of the Department of Curriculum Studies and Higher Education at UFS. He is a visiting Professor at Appalachian State University (USA), and he has received funding such as Thuthuka and participated in grant-aided USDP supervision with Colorado State University (USA) and UKSADP with the University of Highlands and Islands (Scotland). He has received various awards for exceptional research, teaching and engaged scholarship.
  2. Prof Wendy Setlalentoa holds the following qualifications: a BSc Ed, B Ed Hons (NWU), M Ed Didactics (Science) (UFS), PhD (CUT), USAf HELM Women in Leadership SLP (NMU) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Leadership Development (University of Stellenbosch Business School). She has been involved with pre-service and in-service education of teachers throughout her teaching career. Critically, she is a career manager in education for over 30 years (operating at various levels such as Senior lecturer, Programme Head, Acting Dean, Head of Department, Whole School Evaluation Supervisor, and Circuit Manager of Schools with the Free State Province Department of Education). She is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the Central University of Technology. She has published and co-published articles in accredited journals and conference proceedings; presented and co-presented numerous papers at international and national conferences in the fields of Educational Management, Assessment and Evaluation in Education as well as Mathematics and Science Education. Wendy has successfully supervised master’s, and doctoral students to completion. She co-edited and served as a reviewer for NRF,  several accredited journals and conference proceedings and is a mentor in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) programme at the CUT.

REFERENCES  

Harry, A. (2023). Role of AI in Education. Interdisciplinary Journal and Humanity, 2(3), 260-268. https://doi.org/10.58631/injurity.v2i3.52

Lampou, R. (2023). The Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Education: Opportunities and Challenges. Review of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 4(00), e015-e015. https://doi.org/10.37497/rev.artif.intell.educ.v4i00.15

Kim, S., Jang, Y., Kim, W., Choi, S., Jung, H., Kim, S., & Kim, H. (2021, May). Why and what to teach: AI curriculum for elementary school. In Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (Vol. 35, No. 17, pp. 15569-15576). https://doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v35i17.17833

Olari, V., & Romeike, R. (2021, October). Addressing AI and data literacy in teacher education: A review of existing educational frameworks. In The 16th Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education (pp. 1-2). https://doi.org/10.1145/3481312.3481351