Beyond the Correct Answer: Perspectives, Challenges, and Opportunities for AI in Education

Dear Colleagues,

Recent years have seen exponential growth in the availability, capability and use of AI across all areas of our lives. In education, institutions have struggled to keep up with the developing capabilities of generative AI tools and their implications for teaching and learning (Perkins et al., 2024), especially with respect to concerns about academic integrity, plagiarism and intellectual property. Educators, to date, have been developing their own assessment practice, often in the absence of concrete institution-level guidance, and students are uncertain of whether they are prohibited, permitted or encouraged to use the tools and how best to use them (Smith et al, 2025).

Perspectives on the use of AI in education have shifted from an initial move to defend against its use by adapting assessments, through acceptance that assessment must take account of AI use, to recognition that it is crucial for students to develop AI literacy and competency to prepare their careers and life in a society where AI proliferates (Anapureddy et al., 2025). This rapid transition in perspectives brings with it a responsibility for educators to ensure that students continue to develop critical analysis skills and learn how to engage with and use AI technologies effectively, safely and ethically. Educators are currently looking for answers on how best to do this, often in isolation at the course and programme level, within their discipline and institution. What is needed now are robust assessment frameworks (perhaps discipline-agnostic) that are fit for purpose, yet flexible and adaptable, in response to changes in AI system capabilities (Corbin et al., 2025). There is also a need for more studies on the long-term impact of AI technologies on higher education assessment and learning that can inform curriculum development and institutional assessment policies going forward.

The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:

• Frameworks, policies and guidelines for responsible AI use in HE teaching, learning, and assessment;
• Comparisons of educator and student perceptions of AI usage across subject areas;
• Case studies of successful practice in incorporating AI into assessment, including using AI agents and generative AI in assessment design;
• Empirical studies on tools or techniques that incorporate or guide students in their use of AI;
• Incorporation of student and employer perspectives on required skills and competencies in the generative AI era;
• Reflections on the impact of generative AI on traditional assessment types, including dissertations, capstone projects, essays, reports, code, exams, and presentations.

Suggested Themes: Submissions are invited on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

• Approaches to ensure inclusion/equity and access to AI when assessing learning;
• Ethics, Privacy, Security of AI-Augmented Learning and Assessment;
• Academic Integrity and Policy Development;
• Innovative Use of AI in Higher Education Assessment;
• Developing AI Literacy, Skills and Competencies;
• AI Assessment Frameworks.

References

Anapureddy, R., Fornaroli, A., Gatica-Perez, D., (2025). Generative AI Literacy: Twelve Defining Competencies, Digital Government: Research and Practice, 6(1) Article 13, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1145/3685680

Corbin, T., Dawson, P., & Liu, D. (2025). Talk is cheap: why structural assessment changes are needed for a time of GenAI. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 50(7), 1087–1097. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2025.2503964

Perkins, M., Roe, J. Decoding Academic Integrity Policies: A Corpus Linguistics Investigation of AI and Other Technological Threats. High Educ Policy 37, 633–653 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-023-00323-2

Smith, D., Sokoya, D., Cinenye, O., Boyd, C., Lacey. M., Francis, N. (2025). Embedding Generative AI as a digital capability into a year-long skills program. Journal of Teaching and Learning Practice, 22, (4) Article 3. https://doi.org/10.53761/fh6q4v89

Dr. Marie Devlin
Dr. Steve Riddle
Guest Editors

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