Philosophical leadership in education: Rethinking pedagogy in an AI-driven world

Background The increasing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation into education poses significant ethical and pedagogical challenges. Educators must manage technological adoption and assume the role of philosophical leaders to guide students in critical interactions with AI. Objective This review synthesises theoretical, empirical, and policy contributions on the ethical integration of AI, focusing on philosophical leadership as a framework for teachers’ roles. Methods A Conceptual Integrative Review design, employing a configurative qualitative evidence synthesis as its primary analytical technique, was applied to a refined corpus, following the comprehensive eligibility assessment of 160 full-text articles. The final synthesis systematically coded and integrated findings from 137 included sources, spanning randomized controlled trials and theoretical papers. This embedded approach allowed for the interpretation of quantitative data within a philosophical framework, strictly excluding sources lacking methodological transparency or relevance to the study's scope. Results The analysis identifies three converging dimensions of philosophical leadership: (i) ethical judgment regarding the risks and benefits of AI; (ii) pedagogical guidance that fosters critical thinking and learner empowerment; and (iii) policy translation, which fundamentally enables educators to seamlessly align daily classroom practices with high-level international governance frameworks. Conclusions Evidence confirms that AI should enhance, not replace, human educators. Philosophical leadership, strengthened through mentoring and coaching, emerges as a key framework for ethically integrating AI while promoting equity and transparency. Education systems embracing these approaches are better positioned to balance innovation with human-centred values.