Overview
What the framework is trying to do
The UNESCO teacher framework combines technical competence with pedagogy, professional learning, human rights, and human accountability. It is organized around five aspects and three developmental levels: Acquire, Deepen, and Create.
The model emphasizes that teachers should critically judge when and how AI belongs in education, rather than treating adoption as inevitable.
Framework structure
Core dimensions or competencies
Human-centred mindset
Human rights, human flourishing, agency, accountability, citizenship, and evaluation of AI benefits and risks.
Ethics of AI
Ethical principles, laws, institutional rules, safe use, and participation in adapting ethical rules.
AI foundations and applications
Conceptual understanding, tool selection, limitations, and use in real educational contexts.
AI pedagogy
Purposeful integration of AI with teaching, learning, assessment, inclusion, and social care.
AI for professional development
Lifelong professional learning and collaborative development using AI.
Critical depth
Why this framework is rated High
Rated High because the framework foregrounds human rights, systemic inequality, privacy, cultural and linguistic diversity, inclusion, sustainability, and teacher agency. Its main purpose remains professional competency development rather than structural critique itself.
Central
Privacy, equity, human agency
Present
Bias, labor, accessibility, environmental impact, epistemic authority, verification, transparency
Limited
Power, surveillance
Not evident
See the Critical Dimensions Index for dimensions not assigned a stronger classification.
Evidence base
What supports the framework?
Policy framework informed by UNESCO Member States, an international working group, consultation meetings, and online consultation
Practical use
Especially useful for
Faculty development, teacher education, curriculum planning, AI policy implementation, and professional learning pathways.
Evaluation
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Strong integration of pedagogy with ethics and human-centred judgment.
- Developed through broad international consultation.
- Useful for faculty development as well as institutional planning.
Limitations
- Uses the broad category of teacher, so adaptation may be needed for higher education faculty roles.
- Some structural concerns are present but not explored with the depth of explicitly critical frameworks.
Portability
How well does it travel?
High. It is designed as a global reference and is intentionally adaptable across education systems.
Source
Citation
Miao, F., & Cukurova, M. (2024). AI competency framework for teachers. UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54675/ZJTE2084