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Ethical Leadership in AI-Enabled Schools: Navigating Human Rights, Equity, and Justice in Education

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  • Konstantina Michopoulou
  • Jean Kim Chin Gan

Abstract

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into primary and secondary education presents both pedagogical opportunities and ethical challenges. This study examines how ethical leadership can guide the use of AI in compulsory schooling. Drawing on international legal instruments, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Council of Europe’s Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (EDC/HRE), within the spirit of the EU’s AI Act, the first binding worldwide horizontal regulation on AI, this study adopts a normative human rights framework. It analyzes critical issues such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, equity, and democratic accountability. The study develops a six-pillar model of ethical leadership that integrates legal obligations, ethical reasoning, and pedagogical priorities. This model offers school leaders a principled and contextually responsive approach to AI governance in education, ensuring that digital innovation supports the justice, inclusion, and rights of all the learners.

Suggested Citation

  • Konstantina Michopoulou & Jean Kim Chin Gan, 2025. "Ethical Leadership in AI-Enabled Schools: Navigating Human Rights, Equity, and Justice in Education," European Journal of Education and Pedagogy, European Open Science, vol. 6(5), pages 24-33, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:epw:ejedu0:v:6:y:2025:i:5:id:30988
    DOI: 10.24018/ejedu.2025.6.5.988
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Francesca Gottschalk & Crystal Weise, 2023. "Digital equity and inclusion in education: An overview of practice and policy in OECD countries," OECD Education Working Papers 299, OECD Publishing.
    2. Solomon, Robert C., 2003. "Victims of Circumstances? A Defense of Virtue Ethics in Business," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(1), pages 43-62, January.
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