Abstract
Teachers are central to achieving inclusive and equitable quality education, yet persistent global inequalities in learning outcomes and access to digital infrastructure continue to limit educational opportunity. At the same time, advances in cognitive science, literacy and numeracy research, and artificial intelligence (AI) present new opportunities to improve teaching and learning. AI has the potential to transform education by reducing administrative workloads, enabling more personalised support, and creating greater capacity for high-quality instruction. However, without careful design and meaningful teacher involvement, AI risks reinforcing existing inequalities and widening the global learning divide.
This report examines the hypothesis that teacher engagement is not simply desirable but a necessary condition for the effective and equitable impact of AI in education. It argues that teachers’ professional expertise, ethical judgement, and practical experience must inform both the design and implementation of AI-enabled educational tools. Meaningful teacher participation can strengthen agency, support critical engagement with emerging technologies, and help ensure that AI responds to the realities of classroom practice without adding to teachers’ existing workloads.
Through the Teachers-in-the-Lead initiative, this report presents findings from three case studies conducted through a portfolio of sandboxes designed to place teachers at the centre of AI design and implementation. Together, the case studies explore how education systems can create conditions for teachers to test, adapt, and critically evaluate AI-enabled tools at pace. The findings contribute to a broader understanding of how teacher-led approaches can support responsible AI adoption and help ensure that technological innovation advances, rather than undermines, equitable and high-quality education.
Authors and contributors
- Burgess, Felicity (Author)
Citation
Burgess, F. (2026). Teachers-in-the-Lead: Insights from Three Sandboxes. EdTech Hub. https://doi.org/10.53832/edtechhub.1234. Available at https://docs.edtechhub.org/lib/2H93DCGT
Link to this record
https://docs.edtechhub.org/lib/2H93DCGT
Key themes
- School administrators and senior leadership team
- Pedagogy
- Teacher education/training (pre service)
- Teachers
- Teacher professional development (in service)
Type
- Report
