Comunicação & Educação

Guest editors: Adilson Citelli and Roseli Figaro (on behalf of Comunicação & Educação); Graciana Zarauza and Mariano Zukerfeld (on behalf of Hipertextos)

The journals Comunicação & Educação (CCA/ECA/USP) and Hipertextos (University of Buenos Aires, National University of La Plata and Maimónides University) are to jointly publish a special issue entitled “Artificial intelligence and education: critical approaches, tensions and alternatives”. To this end, they invite researchers from all disciplines who take a critical look at the relationship between artificial intelligence and education to submit their contributions.

The overarching theme of the special issue concerns the challenges posed by so-called artificial intelligence within the educational sphere, understood in the broadest sense. Of particular interest are papers which, from critical perspectives, enable reflection, deepen discussions, raise the profile of research and propose alternatives that shed light on the tensions surrounding the presence of AI in educational processes, both within and outside educational institutions.

With the aim of providing guidance for those wishing to contribute, we set out below five thematic areas, some of which are organised into sub-themes. This is not an exhaustive list: proposals that address more than one thematic area are welcome.

Theme 1. Critical theoretical perspectives on artificial intelligence

1.1. Critiques of dominant discourses on technology in education

Critical approaches to accelerationism, techno-solutionism, techno-determinism, transhumanism, cognitivism and other conceptions that guide the development and dissemination of AI.

Analysis of the narratives of inevitability, innovation and the “educational revolution” that accompany the arrival of AI in education: what assumptions about knowledge, learning and human beings do they draw upon? How do they contribute to legitimising its rapid — and largely undiscussed — introduction into educational institutions?

1.2. Critical theoretical proposals on AI in education

The effects of AI on critical thinking: does it enhance, weaken or transform the abilities to analyse, argue, evaluate sources and exercise independent judgement? How should we consider the relationship between critical thinking and the delegation of intellectual tasks to automated systems?

Other cognitive effects of AI: attention, memory, reading and writing, cognitive delegation, dependency, and discursive homogenisation. What transformations in the ways we think, learn and produce knowledge can be conceptualised?

Relationships between AI and the characteristics of contemporary capitalism: platform and surveillance capitalism, extractivism and data colonialism, concentration in big tech and knowledge oligopolies, the invisible work of training and classification, and material and environmental costs.

Redefinitions of concepts such as authorship, knowledge, truth, language and intelligence, and contributions from Latin American and Global South theoretical traditions to the discourse on AI.

Theme 2. Regulation, public policy and ethics

2.1. Regulation and public policy

National, regional and international regulatory frameworks on AI and their scope within the educational sector. Is it imperative to regulate AI, or should it be left to self-regulate? What rhetorical arguments regarding the concept of freedom of expression currently underpin this debate, and what political, ideological and economic disputes do they reflect?

Educational policies regarding AI: debates on its prohibition, restriction, regulation or promotion in educational institutions; the design, implementation and evaluation of these policies. The role of international organisations and technology corporations in policy formulation and its consequences for the autonomy of educational institutions and the teaching profession.

Protection of student and teacher data, public procurement of platforms, and technological and educational sovereignty.

2.2. Ethics

Ethical, risk and responsibility issues surrounding the use of generative AI in education: bias, transparency, privacy, academic integrity, equity.

Critical analyses of the ethical frameworks themselves: to what extent do the codes and principles of “responsible AI” function as an alternative to regulation or as a form of corporate self-regulation?

Theme 3. Artificial intelligence and educational scenarios

This theme covers formal education at its various levels (early years education, primary education, secondary education, higher education, teacher training and postgraduate studies), as well as non-formal education (social organisations, popular education, vocational training and on-the-job training, amongst others) and informal education (everyday learning mediated by chatbots, platforms and networks). Priority is given to analyses of experiences and empirical studies based on primary sources (interviews, observations, surveys, institutional documents) and secondary sources (statistics, policy documents, reports). Among other topics:

Projects to introduce AI into educational institutions and the points of convergence of interests with state bodies. Pressure from large technology companies to sell so-called “educational” materials and platforms: are we facing a business model implemented under the pretext of educational modernisation?

Challenges for teaching staff and for teaching and learning processes; changes in assessment, planning and teachers” working conditions.

Methodologies and teaching approaches that incorporate generative AI: what are they, and what are their scope and limitations?

The use and adoption of AI by students and teachers; inequalities in access and use.

Theme 4. Media and algorithmic literacy and critical education

How might we problematise what UNESCO has termed media and information literacy (MIL)? Is this a critical educational imperative, or might it lead to merely instrumental and functional perspectives on education? Do studies and research carried out within the field of educommunication offer possibilities for going beyond the concept of algorithmic and media literacy?

Could critical education and the emancipation of students be compromised by the thoughtless introduction of AI into schools? Are ChatGPT and similar systems gaining an excessive presence in the lives of students and teachers? Could indiscriminate and uncritical access to generative systems lead to cognitive dependence and even discursive homogenisation? Are there harm-reduction strategies in relation to these technologies, particularly AI? Does the pace at which algorithmic systems operate match the time students need  for their reflective and emotional development?

Are dialogue and the interactionist perspective – present in various theoretical and practical traditions, such as those of Mikhail Bakhtin, Paulo Freire and Célestin Freinet, which, with different emphases, are dedicated to understanding and promoting critical education, students” intellectual autonomy and civic participation – compatible with generative AI models in school-based teaching and learning processes? Under what conditions do generative systems, by simulating dialogical interactions, foster or undermine the processes of producing critical and emancipatory knowledge? What are the possibilities, limitations and contradictions of this approach?

Theme 5. Alternative uses of artificial intelligence

5.1. Counter-hegemonic uses of commercial AI

Critical appropriations, tactics and forms of resistance to commercial AI in educational contexts: teaching, student, social movement and popular education practices that challenge or subvert the logic of the platforms.

Refusal, objection and disengagement as pedagogical and political practices.

5.2. Non-commercial AI and beyond large language models

Open, public, community-led or university-developed models; small-scale, local AI; systems not based on large language models (LLMs); developments in indigenous and local languages; public infrastructure and free software.

What technical, economic and institutional conditions do these alternatives require? What other visions of AI — and its place in education — do they make possible?

Submission of articles

Articles may be written in Spanish, Portuguese or English and must be submitted exclusively via the submission system of the journal Comunicação & Educação: https://revistas.usp.br/comueduc/pt_BR/about/submissions

They must comply with the editorial guidelines set out below. Each article will be assessed in the language in which it was submitted. Selected articles will be translated and published in Portuguese and English in the journal Comunicação & Educação, and in Spanish in the journal Hipertextos, regardless of the language of the original submission.

Questions: comueduc@usp.br

Submission guidelines

a) Titles should be brief. If the title includes a subtitle, both should be entered together in the “Title” field of the system; do not use the “Subtitle” field, as this information is lost when the DOI is assigned. Do not use punctuation at the end of the title or subtitle; avoid the use of bold or italics, as well as symbols such as “&”; capitalise only proper nouns and the first word. The body of the article must be organised into sections with subtitles.

b) The author or authors (maximum of four) must provide a short biographical note of no more than three lines, including their email address and ORCID.

c) At the beginning of the text, the article must include an abstract of 8 to 10 lines and 5 keywords in Portuguese, English and Spanish, regardless of the language of the article. Avoid the use of bold or italics, as well as symbols such as “&”.

d) Each article must be between 30,000 and 45,000 characters in length (including spaces, abstracts and footnotes).

e) Font: Times New Roman, size 12, 1.5 line spacing.

f) Insert the page number at the bottom of the page.

g) Paper size: A4 (21.0 x 29.7 cm), portrait orientation, with top, bottom, left and right margins of 2.5 cm.

h) Citations and bibliographical references must comply with the following guidelines, in accordance with the language of the original text: if the text is written in Portuguese or English, it must comply with the ABNT NBR 6023 and NBR 10520 standards (Brazilian standard for bibliographical references); if written in Spanish, it must follow the APA guidelines, 7th edition (please consult the following guide for their application: https://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/164813).

 

Schedule

Deadline for submission of articles: 28 February 2027.

Announcement of selected articles: 30 July 2027.

Publication of the special issue: late November 2027.

 

The editorial teams of Comunicação & Educação and Hipertextos