Navigating the AI Frontier in Girls’ Schools
GARC 2025-2026 Research Topic
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in schools around the world has garnered significant attention. It offers a host of innovative solutions to enhance teaching and learning experiences, both for students and teachers, and yet presents complex challenges in effective implementation.
Students can undertake a wide range of engaging and educational projects using AI in the classroom, such as creating AI-powered chatbots to simulate conversations with characters from literature or historical figures; building predictive models to forecast trends or patterns in real-world data sets; building AI-powered games or simulations that teach computational thinking concepts and problem-solving skills; and experimenting with generative adversarial networks (GANs) to create original artwork or music compositions.
A recent research study commissioned by the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS) and undertaken by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), underscores why it is particularly important for girls’ schools to explore the AI frontier to better understand and employ best teaching practices for girls. The study, entitled The Positive Effects of the Girls’ School Environment, found that, “Girls’ school students noted a greater frequency of engaging with digital media than their co-educated counterparts, indicating their digital literacy skills and facility with technology.” As students at girls’ schools spend more time exploring various aspects of AI, it will be important for educators at girls’ schools to understand the opportunities and challenges associated with the impact of AI on girls’ learning.
Teachers can use AI-powered platforms to support personalized learning experiences for students and virtual tutoring; automated grading and analysis of data and trends; content creation such as lesson plans, presentations, and assessments; and a range of management and administrative support functions. The aforementioned study also found that, girls’ school students noted “higher teacher engagement than their co-educated counterparts” with “more teacher attention being paid to individual students.” Additionally, students at girls’ schools said that their teachers “employ alternative teaching strategies and lesson plans to maximize the learning of their students, according to the study responses.” Lastly, students at girls’ schools “noted more frequently than their co-educated peers that their teachers were enthusiastic, displaying higher levels of teacher encouragement and motivation.” Given the responsive and personalized classrooms that characterize girls’ schools, the ways in which teachers use AI in their teaching practices is highly relevant and important to their students.
Researchers in this cohort are encouraged to examine the efficacy and potential impact of AI on the teaching and learning of girls in areas such as student engagement, academic performance, and educational outcomes amongst many others. In addition, they may need to consider the potential challenges associated with AI implementation, such as bias in algorithms, changes in teaching practice and in assessment, privacy concerns, dependency on technology, loss of human relationships and interactions, and loss of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Ultimately, research projects for this cycle will provide evidence-based insights and guidelines for leveraging AI to its fullest potential in girls’ schools, while mitigating potential risks and ensuring equitable access to high-quality education for all students.
Note: This research topic focuses on girls’ teaching and learning within an active classroom environment. Applicants need to be teaching their own class of students in order to apply.
We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of ChatGPT in exploring the many facets of this topic.