Strengthening education trade union capacity for collective bargaining and advocacy on Artificial intelligence

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The education sector has been marked by an unprecedented increase in the use of artificial intelligence systems in recent years. However, the rapid technological advancement poses not only promises but also significant challenges for education workers and students alike.  

While artificial intelligence and education (AIEd) has been the subject of academic research for decades, significant gaps persist in understanding how AI impacts teachers and education personnel at all levels of education, their rights, and working conditions.  

Additionally, the integration of AI systems in education, accelerated by the abundance of easily accessible tools on the market, has yet to be accompanied by thorough strategies at the institutional and school levels to ensure that AI systems truly respond to teachers' professional needs and students' pedagogical needs.  

Whereas numerous national and European regulations apply to the use of AI systems and data protection, these measures do not provide a complete framework of protection for education workers. Besides, uncertainties and doubts remain concerning their concrete application, especially for those legislative measures that still have to enter into force fully. 

Addressing the impact of artificial intelligence systems in education requires a comprehensive approach that also involves education workers and their unions in the decision-making processes.  

Therefore, the ETUCE project Balancing AI in EDU aims to strengthen the capacity of education trade unions to foster collective bargaining and exercise more effective advocacy actions on AI and education at the national and European level. 

 

Objectives 

  • Mapping existent policies on AI and education at European and national levels and the degree of education trade unions’ involvement in their design, implementation, and monitoring. 
  • Analysing the current use and implementation of AI systems at all levels of education and their opportunities and challenges on working conditions, education pedagogies, quality of work, and work-life balance of teachers, academics, researchers, and other education personnel. 
  • Identifying the role of existing regulatory measures and possible collective agreements at the European and national level in addressing the impact that AI systems have on education workers (e.g., workload, working time, professional autonomy, performance management, work-life balance, occupational health and safety; data security and privacy, copyright) and identifying the areas on which further education trade union action is required. 
  • Strengthening education trade unions’ capacity of advocacy and collective bargaining to address the challenges arising from the use of AI in the education sector and ensure better protection of work-related rights of education 
  • Fostering mutual learning and information exchange among education trade unions, facilitating the dissemination of effective strategies for leveraging AI systems in education while proactively addressing challenges that may arise for education workers.