Cultivating Tomorrow's Innovators: Navigating the Landscape of High School AI Literacy

Abstract With the significant rise of artificial intelligence (AI) across sectors, its integration into high school education is just starting to appear. As this new technology is becoming more prominent, educational stakeholders are beginning to plan how to equip students with the necessary skills and competencies of AI. This literature review delves into AI literacy in high school contexts. It employed the guiding principles by Kitchenham and Charters (2007) to plan, conduct, and report on the status of high school AI literacy research. Following an extensive search across leading academic databases simply using the terms "high school" AND "artificial intelligence," 1,943 articles were initially found. Strong inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed to ensure the selection of articles that only related to research primarily focused on high school AI literacy. After rigorous screening for relevance and availability, we selected 16 articles addressing high school AI literacy. We employed the Elo and Kyngäs (2008) inductive analysis approach, extracting data for publication year, study objectives, number of citations, authors' related publications, stakeholders addressed, stakeholder perceptions, AI4K12 content coverage, and ethical considerations. We analyzed each topic, finding commonality and uniqueness among the articles. By analyzing the objectives, we found these articles highlighted four primary themes: curriculum and program development, teaching and learning methods, student engagement and perceptions, and inclusion and diversity in education. We also found that there was a significant increase in publications of this sort published in 2022, with a decrease in publications in 2023. Using our other extracted data, we were able to answer four research questions to help guide stakeholders: 1) To what extent do current research articles address the spectrum of AI literacy, and how thoroughly do they cover the AI4K12 concepts? 2) What ethical considerations are addressed? 3) How inclusive is the current body of research concerning all stakeholders involved in developing, implementing, conducting, and evaluating AI education? 4) What are stakeholders' perceptions toward AI? The preference for hands-on learning in AI education suggests an impactful approach to engaging students. Integrating such methodologies into instructional design can significantly enhance student interaction and comprehension of AI concepts. For stakeholders, this implies a need to develop curricular resources that are interactive and immersive, using methods like project-based learning to thereby facilitate a deeper understanding and application of AI in real-world scenarios. The review identifies critical gaps in comprehensive resources and the integration of ethical best practices in AI education. Future research should focus on utilizing existing frameworks, such as AI4K12, that incorporate ethics into the AI curriculum. Future research should also explore more inclusivity of stakeholders, identifying the resources necessary to support a diverse range of educational contexts. The significance of this review lies in its spotlight on the evolving landscape of AI education in high schools. It calls for a concerted effort among educators, policymakers, and curriculum designers to develop AI education programs that are not only technologically advanced but also ethically informed and culturally sensitive. Addressing the identified gaps and advocating for research in underexplored areas will be crucial in shaping a future where all students are well-prepared for the AI-driven world.