Digital education | Education blog

Being curious and creative about the role of artificial intelligences (AI) in primary education

Education and Childhood Research Group | 6 July 20266 July 2026

By Dr Claire Osborne, Senior Lecturer in Education

In an interview with the journalist Faisal Islam on BBC Newsnight (broadcast June 2026), Jack Clark, co-founder of the artificial intelligence (AI) company ‘Anthropic’ which built the AI software program ‘Claude’, suggested that the people who will benefit most from AI and have the advantage are those that think creatively, are curious, and have broad interests. These remarks were in response to growing concerns around the acceleration of AI technologies without human input. Hence Clark’s call for individuals to ‘indulge in curiosity’ and creativity and even take up a hobby as this may benefit how people use technology.

As the capabilities of generative artificial intelligences (Gen AI) advance and AI systems learn from and with other machines, humans will most likely become ever more reliant on AI generated outputs to inform collective knowledge and our understanding(s) of the world. However, it could be argued that an over reliance on AI outputs without question, or critical evaluation may inhibit original thought and defer our abilities to think for ourselves. Moreover, whose and what knowledge is being constructed and re-produced by artificial intelligences is a matter of contention, whilst issues around ethics, bias, and AI safety are real concerns.

As a professional educator with a background in the arts and humanities, I have begun to ponder on what it means to be in the age of AI. Moreover, I have been thinking about the role of schools in enhancing a state of curiosity in young learners and how teachers are well positioned to foster children’s creative and critical thinking skills across a range of subject disciplines. Developing such learning dispositions may enable us to engage well and responsibly with AI tools now and in the future, so we gain the most from this fast-evolving technology.

Fostering curiosity

The state of being curious is a cognitive activity which can be liken to the creation of thought. According to Loewenstein (1994, p.75), curiosity is “a form of cognitively induced deprivation that arises from the perception of a gap in knowledge or understanding”. To be curious means being interested in the world around you and asking questions. It’s about being inquisitive, seeking out gaps in knowledge, thinking deeply about what we think we know (or do not know) and finding out more. The state of curiosity can help us imagine a wealth of possibilities as we contemplate life and what it means to be. Moreover, being curious about the world can enable us to produce creative and innovative solutions to human problems. Whether or not Gen AI has (or will have) the capacity to think creatively (or be curious) was a question alluded to by Jack Clark in the afore mentioned interview. It was therefore of note, that during the interview Clark suggested that studying the liberal arts, including philosophy – which by design, are subjects that stimulate curiosity and creative thinking – may be especially useful to young people and provide them with an advantage in the age of AI.

The capacity to be mindfully curious will undoubtedly be a powerful human resource much needed in the years ahead as we engage with an ever-changing world. Notwithstanding, as AI becomes a ubiquitous presence in many people’s daily lives, humans will need to learn how to utilise these digital technologies well whilst being curious and critical about how, what, and whose knowledge is circulated in society. Moreover, humans will need to question whether Gen AI outputs are accurate, representative, and contribute to knowledge growth and a better world.

The role of primary schools

Primary school classrooms are unique places where human curiosity can be encouraged and nurtured. As Cross et al., (2016) asserts: “Primary teachers are in a particularly powerful position to stimulate or encourage curiosity through the learning contexts they develop and the ways they scaffold learning with challenges, explanation and invitations to think and act”. These fundamental pedagogical principles can be applied to a range of subject disciplines in the primary years, including the arts and humanities. They can also be applied to how AI systems based on large language models (LLM) are used to generate knowledge whilst encouraging children to think and respond to what is being produced. Evaluating how outputs are created could increase critical dialogue and deepen understanding around how Gen AI can be used effectively as one of many pedagogical tools in the box to advance learning. However, a UK government report into the risks and opportunities of Gen AI (DfE, 2024) conducted by The Open Innovation Team (OIT), suggests that there are some key barriers to AI adoption in education. This includes a lack of knowledge, poor digital skills, and limited infrastructure which could impact on teacher’s digital capabilities (DfE, 2024, p.5). That said, the report contends that Gen AI has the potential to transform education. It goes on to outline the many stated benefits of Gen AI usage among teachers. This includes automating tasks resulting in time efficiency, assisting with lesson content, and helping teachers generate new ideas to enhance creative and engaging teaching (DfE, 2024, p.16). Moreover, the OIT report suggests that adapting to Gen AI technology could change how and what people learn because of the way in which ‘information is synthesised and presented’ (DfE, 2024, p.8).

As people’s digital capabilities grow, and learning communities become more curious about the functionalities of AI systems, primary classrooms have the potential to be and become enabling and creative places where students can play with big ideas using appropriate digital tools as and when needed to advance learning across a broad and balanced primary curriculum (DfE, 2013). Presently, the government seem keen on supporting safe and effective Gen AI adoption in education (DfE, 2024). In addition, last year, the UK government produced an AI Action Plan (DfSIT, 2025) with the intent to increase AI take up across society so Britain can benefit economically and socially from the opportunities AI has to offer. While the English education system undergoes curriculum reform (DfE, 2025a) and the government declares its commitment to supporting primary and secondary schools in England teach a knowledge-rich computing curriculum (DfE, 2025b) it will be of interest to see whether AI education will be high on the curriculum agenda as we face the changes and challenges ahead. As Rachel Arthur, chief learning officer at the independent charity ‘Raspberry Pi’, stresses in a recent interview, every young person needs to digitally upskill, learn how to code, and understand how AI systems work whilst being able to evaluate outputs, especially with regards to bias, ethics, and security (Arthur, 2026). If the UK government is strongly committed to ‘ramping up AI adoption across the UK’ (DfSIT, 2025) and augmenting AI in education, they will need to continue to invest in developing students and teacher’s digital capabilities whilst emphasising the risks and opportunities of AI at the earliest stages in our learning journeys.

Looking forwards

AI will undoubtedly transform (and possibly disrupt) how we work, think, and learn. However, the capacity to think creatively and philosophically whilst remaining curious about the world in which we have been ‘thrown’ (Heidegger, 1927) will be central to human advancement with or without AI. That said, as AI systems become more sophisticated, all knowing, and all doing, humans will need to learn how to use this fast-evolving technology well and to our advantage, whilst critically evaluating the information being generated by the machines we have created. Moreover, teachers and students will need to continually upskill to keep a pace with change so that, together, we can explore new ways artificial intelligences can enhance excellent learning and teaching and enable curious and creative learners of the future to thrive and become active, not passive, participants in shaping the world. I will continue to ponder this as a research project with ECRG members in the 4 strands of research during the next academic year.

References

Arthur, R., (2026) Interview with Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong, Will AI replace the people who built it? The Artificial Human, BBC Radio Four, 17 June.

Clark, J. (2026) Interview with Faisal Islam, Newsnight, BBC Two, 04 June.

Cross, A., Borthwick, A., Beswick, K., Board, J. and Chippindall, J. (2016). Introduction. In: A. Cross., A. Borthwock., K. Beswick., J. Board., J. Chippindall ed. (2016) Curious Learners in Primary Maths, Science, Computing and DT [online]. London: SAGE Publications, pp. 1-12 [Accessed 18 June 2026]

DfE (Department for Education) (2013) The National Curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document. Runcorn: DfE. Available from:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-primary-curriculum [Last accessed 22 June 2026].

DfE (Department for Education) (2024) Generative AI in Education: Educator and Expert Views (Gov. UK) Available at: Generative AI in education: educator and expert views – GOV.UK [Accessed 18 June 2026].

DfE (Department for Education) (2025a) Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report: Building a world class curriculum for all. Gov. UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report [Accessed 12 November 2025].

DfE (Department for Education) (2025b) Generative AI in Education: Educator and Expert Views. Updated 12 August 2025 (Gov. UK). Available at: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education – GOV.UK [Accessed 18 June 2026].

DfSIT (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) (2025) AI Opportunities Action Plan: Ramping up AI adoption across the UK to boost economic growth, provide jobs for the future and improve people’s everyday lives. Independent Report. Gov. UK. Available at: AI Opportunities Action Plan – GOV.UK [Accessed 18 June 2026].

Heidegger, M. (2003 [1927]). Being and Time. Oxford: Blackwell.

Loewenstein, G. (1994) The Psychology of Curiosity: A Review and Reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin. Volume 116 (1) pp, 75-98.

Culture Club: Words, Sight and Sounds Vol. 3 with Dr. Rita Gayle (University of Birmingham)

Education and Childhood Research Group | 29 February 20245 April 2024

Tuesday 19th March 2024 – 4:15pm-5:30pm // free and online // Eventbrite registration required for non-UWE colleagues

By Malcolm Richards – Senior Lecturer in Education, School of Education and Childhood

The third in an exciting series of collaborations by Network for Black Studies in Education, in collaboration with UWE ECRG, Bristol Caribbean Kitchen, Bookbag (Exeter), and Phoenix Agenda Supplementary School (Leicester).

Overview

Culture Club: Words, Sight and Sounds remixes traditional book club formats, using digital sources to encourage a creative learning space for teachers, student teachers, community educators, and academics. We are specifically interested in developing deeper understandings of the wide-ranging area of Black Studies scholarship, and its relevance to local-global contemporary education.

Our guest discussant

We are delighted to welcome as our guest, Dr Rita Gayle (University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK).

Rita Gayle (she/her) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for The Conjunctures Strand of The Stuart Hall Archive Project at the University of Birmingham. Rita is a co-founder of the research group, Global Black Geographies with Dr Agostinho Pinnock in 2019. Rita can be found online on X : @rita_gayle

How it works:

Rita has selected THREE digital resources inspired by Words, Sights, and Sounds, for us to respond with. Two of these stimuli are freely available from digital sources, with URL links provided on registration.

Attendees will have several weeks to engage and reflect with the resources.

Event structure:

On the day, Dr Rita Gayle will explore THREE which stimuli speak to how creativity, place and space affect the production and transfer of Black knowledges.

· (from 4.15pm) Embodiment of Black Life – a specially curated SOUND playlist by Dr Rita Gayle

· Introduction Amy Saleh (UWE Bristol)

· Presentation of WORD and SIGHT by Dr Rita Gayle

· Opening reflections

· Community dialogue with connections to wider Black Studies scholarship

· Closing words with Dr Rita Gayle

Registration:

For UWE students (MA/EdD/PhD) or UWE staff, please email Malcolm Richards directly for information and registration: malcolm.richards@uwe.ac.uk
For non-UWE colleagues, please register for the event on Eventbrite: Culture Club: Words, Sight and Sounds w/Dr. Rita Gayle (Uni of Birmingham) Tickets, Tue 19 Mar 2024 at 16:30 | Eventbrite

Save the date:

· Dr Ryan Hanley (University of Exeter, UK) – Volume. 4 – (Tuesday 28 May 2024)

· Ass. Professor Obianuju Juliet Bushi (University of Windsor, Canada) – Volume. 5 – (Tuesday 9 July 2024)

Thanks:

Culture Club: Words, Sights and Sounds is a series of exciting collaborations by the Network for Black Studies in Education, with Bristol Caribbean Kitchen, Phoenix Agenda Supplementary School (Leicester, UK), UWE ECRG Equity in Education, and our growing connections with local-global community organisations.

If you would like to hear any more about joining the Network for Black Studies in Education with UWE, or this event, please contact Malcolm Richards malcolm.richards@uwe.ac.uk

Project Zulu Research Seminar

Bristol Inter-disciplinary Group for Education Research | 13 March 201913 March 2019

The Department of Education and Childhood Presents: The Bristol Inter-disciplinary Group for Education Research (BRIDGE)

Project Zulu Research Seminar 2nd April 2019 — 5pm – 7pm — Room 2S704 , Frenchay.

Project Zulu is a UWE educational development initiative which works with partner schools in township and rural areas of Kwazul-Natal, South Africa. Collaborations between school communities in SA and UWE staff and students seek ways of enhancing infrastructure, pedagogy and learning opportunities through knowledge exchange, action research and practical support. The three research projects presented in this seminar have developed over the last three years and are based on such collaborations.

Dr Alex Palombi and Vanessa Parmenter LD Nursing and Occupational Therapy collaboration at township SEN school

Over the last two years, learning difficulties nursing and occupational therapy students have volunteered for 4 weeks within a special educational needs (SEN) school within Madadeni Township in South Africa as part of Project Zulu. This research used five semi structured interviews and a focus group to explore the impact of Project Zulu on the health and social care students’ professional learning, and on the participating SEN school’s teachers and principal. Transcripts of the interviews and focus group are to be thematically analysed to explore the nature of the learning derived from this experience and the extent to which teachers and principals view the project as a partnership and the extent to which their mutual learning. Initial findings indicate mutual perceived value in cross cultural learning and useful professional develop alongside managing concerns about sustainability and measuring value.

Dr Jane Carter and Karan Vickers-Hulse Reading Partner intervention at two rural South African primary schools

This project builds on current RET funding (An evaluation of the Bristol Reading Partner (BRP) Intervention) and the work to pilot BRP in two of the UWE Project Zulu (PZ) partnership schools. South Africa was the lowest performing country (out of 50 participating countries) in reading in the Progress in International Reading Study (PIRLS 2016) and is the priority area of the PZ schools’ Principals. In Feb 2019 we trained teachers in the pilot schools in the BRP intervention programme; PZ UWE student volunteers will be trained in BRP in March 2019 and will work 1:1 with children in the two pilot schools in KwaZulu Natal in August. This work will also add to the body of data and knowledge we have about BRP and EAL learners.

Dr David Wyatt and Ben Knight ICT project at a rural South African primary school

This three year ICT intervention project at one rural primary school in South Africa aimed to enable integrated ICT learning for pupils. Actions at strategic, infrastructure and teacher digital literacy levels were implemented over three phases and evaluated via teacher questionnaires and a focus group interview. Findings highlight the opportunities and challenges of managing international sustainable enhancement projects, and illustrate the critical role teachers play in pupil skills development and the importance of investing in their digital literacy.

This event is free to attend but pre-registration is required. Register here to book your place.

Empowering autistic children: Experiencing a museum through a customised app

Bristol Inter-disciplinary Group for Education Research | 19 February 201919 February 2019

For most of us, a visit to the museum is a chance to relax, to learn interesting stories from our past. We can probably remember school visits to museums when we were younger. However, for some children, the visit can be challenging: namely autistic children.

Some research highlights that involving children with autism in recreational activities helps to support inclusion, reinforces positive behaviours, and enhances well-being. Within this context, a museum visit is considered a pleasant way to spend leisure time, as it provides interesting stories to inspire and engage visitors; while offering opportunities for experiential learning through play-based activities.

In response to the growing international drive for equal rights and diversity, museums have been encouraged to embrace new ways to provide access to services, with a focus on providing access to people with a diverse range of disabilities. This coupled with an ongoing rise in diagnoses of autism has led museums to address issues of integration. Considering the needs of autistic visitors, museums have attempted to integrate an individualised supportive environment and to provide sensory-friendly activities. In addition, improvements have been made to the physical spaces of these environments. Responding to the prevalence of digital media, museums have gone one step further to consider digital practices as a means of engaging visitors with various impairments. However, the adoption of mobile services in museums seems to target specific groups, and there is little work regarding digital platforms developed specifically for autistic people.

With technology for autistic users being well researched with many attributed benefits, the role of technology in museums represents a timely area of study – this is the focus of my PhD work.

Benefits of technology for autistic users includes:

Slower presentation of information/communication;
Reduced pressures of completing activity (with others);
Computers and technologies can be predictable, systematic and logical; all supporting the strengths of the autistic communities.

With this in mind novel technology programs have been developed to promote various aspects of education, communication, and entertainment, as well as social skills.

My PhD study has been focused on addressing the potential of using digital services in a museum for autistic visitors. It investigated the views and impact of a digital museum experience (through a museum-based app) of autistic children. One of the main aims was to examine whether a museum-based app could be a mediating tool to enable groups of autistic children to have an inclusive experience in a barrier-free environment.

My study was conducted in several stages, and cycles of an iterative process were included to help build an optimal version of the touch-screen interface. This study was conducted in collaboration with a special educational needs school and the M Shed museum in Bristol. The design and development of the app was based on existing literature coupled with recommendations and feedback from the participating children.

So far, the findings suggest that a museum-based app was viewed as a useful tool to provide equal opportunities for autistic children in which to participate with museum-related activities. Given that autistic people can encounter profound challenges in their daily life and feel marginalized from society, a specific adaptation is necessary in this context (a museum). The use of the app during the visit seemed to act as a bridge and to guide the children by focusing on specific exhibits in the gallery. The data also revealed that the choice of the exhibits through play-based activities encouraged the children to be more motivated and to remain focused on the requested tasks.

Overall, the findings from this study support the idea that:

The use of technology-based museum activities can contribute to the inclusion of the autistic community.
The role of partnerships with specialists from different fields are an important aspect of providing high quality outcomes.

This study aimed to shed light on an under researched area and to inform future policy and services provided by museums. This, in turn, could help young autistic people (and their caregivers) access museums in meaningful and supportive ways – and so they can get more out of the experience.

Author: Dimitra Magkafa is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Arts, Cultural Industries and Education, the University of the West of England.

Call for Chapters: Social theory, digital education and the Global South

Bristol Inter-disciplinary Group for Education Research | 29 January 201929 January 2019

‘Digital transformation Machine’ . Photo by Flickr ID Bryan Mathers (CC)

Published in Bourdieu, Civil Society, Critical pedagogy, Culture, Latest Posts, Theory by Cristina Costa on January 24, 2019

Call for chapter submissions for a new edited collection, entitled:

Social theory, digital education and the Global South: Critical perspectives

Edited by Cristina Costa & Ana Lucia Pereir

Book Overview (download leaflet):

The impact of digital media on the social world is a global phenomenon that presents the education sector with a set of new challenges. Even though there is considerable body of research engaged in problematising the effects of digital media on education, the contexts in which these perspectives take place are to a great extent western and often lack social theoretical considerations. In this regard, the Global South has largely been portrayed through a conception of technical divides (access to technology) whereas questions of how new digital and social media interrupt, extend, transform and/or create new, alternative education practices from a multitude of perspectives is far less common. This approach, no doubt, relates to the epistemological and ontological stance one adopts for their research, and where, more often than not, western knowledge is confused with universal knowledge. Santos (2014) names the practice of privileging one type of knowledge over another ‘epistemicide’ and calls for the need to unlearn the dominant criteria by which we conceive the social. Understandings of the role(s) digital media play in education in the Global South would therefore benefit from engagement with different knowledge lenses.

The concept of the ‘Global South’ is one that surpasses geographical location to focus on how colonialism, patriarchy and/or capitalist action has led to deep and ingrained social suffering (see Santos, 2016). It is however true that most research on phenomena that afflict the Global South finds its location in the southern hemisphere. With it then comes the care and the concern that the reality under study is (re)presented from the perspective of those who are part of and/or affected by it. With regards to the focus of this book, this means to explore not only the ways in which digital technologies – especially those associated with the web – drive or hamper education practices, but also whose practices they most affect, how and why.

One of the key purposes of obtaining knowledge from the Global South is not just that of simply giving voice, but rather of sharing voice with those implicated and affected by the phenomena being explored (Santos, 2016, p.21). This requires methodological attention not only to what types of knowledge are being produced through research practices, but how these are developed and by whom. This presents a clear case to connect social theory to method as a core research activity, one that this book aims to promote and exemplify in its different chapters. In this sense, we are interested in exploring how social theories – such as those developed by Arjun Appadurai, Pierre Bourdieu, Judith Butler, Franz Fanon, Michel Foucault, Nancy Fraser, Paulo Freire, Stuart Hall, Jürgen Habermas, Edward Said, Amartya Sen, Gayatri Spivak etc. – can be applied (individually or hybridly) to digital education phenomena in the Global South. We are equally, if not more, interested in examining the application of alternative social theories that may help develop new understanding on the issues at hand.

Hybridized forms of theory will be of particular interest to this collection as a form of advancing new knowledge through the intersection of different and/or emerging theories, as for example, works linking Gramsci to Freire, Foucault to Spivak, etc.

In this regard, this book aims to explore the interplay between digital media practices and education (primary, secondary, further, higher, and adult and community education, as well as informal education) in the context of the Global South. We are particular keen on chapters which can advance existing theories and/or propose new theoretical debates. Chapters focused on the thematic of the book can explore a wide range of issues, as for example: Civil society; Colonialism; Culture; Curriculum; Identity; Language; Knowledge ecologies; Modernisation; Patriarchy; Social justice; The state, etc.

Chapter Proposals

Proposals for chapter contributions, in the form of a 400 word abstract, are requested (deadline: June 30, 2019). The chapter abstract must clearly detail:

The focus of the research and the specific research question/aim.
The social theory/ies and/or theorist(s) drawn upon for the conceptualisation of the research problem as well as how social theory-informed methodologies influenced the research process, i.e., research design, method, and analysis
Explicit reflections of how the theory/ies used offer unique ways of thinking about the issues being explored.

Chapter abstracts should be submitted, in Word format, to the following email socialtheorydigitaleducation@gmail.com

Abstracts received by June 30, 2019 will be reviewed by the editors and authors notified of review results no later than September 1st 2019. A book proposal will then be sent to Bloomsbury Publishing: Social Theory and Methodology in Education Research Series.

Authors invited to submit full chapters will have until May 30th, 2020 for their submission, which will be followed by a peer-review process. Publication of the book: December 2020.

This post was originally published on the Social Theory Applied.

Category: Digital education