Building educator power to shape AI
“It’s sort of helping with my workload. But not really with my job satisfaction. And I’m not sure what it’s doing to my student’s learning experience”.
These words of a teacher and workplace trade union rep exemplify the knotty issues thrown up by the confluence of emergent AI, a struggling education system and diverging perspectives and philosophies of education. The fact that the person is now a former teacher underscores the challenges for education as whole.
Among that complexity, one thing is for certain: technology is not merely a matter for technicians. In the education context, AI’s development and usage cannot be positive without the voice and expertise of educators, and their representative unions.
These millions of educators - support staff, teachers, school leaders - retain the deep embodied knowledge and experience of education and their students. As it is and who they are in way that a decontextualised and predictive model cannot. They are professionals, whose skill and commitment must be empowered by technology and never undermined. They are the most trusted group by parents to make decisions about EdTech - well above companies and government. Trust that is an essential currency for the development and diffusion of technology in a socially useful way.
For AI and education critics or boosters, policy makers and EdTech developers - these educators and their unions must be heard.
To ensure that is the case the TUC in partnership with Connected by Data is working with 9 unions representing millions of workers in the education sector, across every job group in Wales, Scotland and England.
In a 7-month action-learning project starting in September 2025, officers from participating unions engage in monthly sessions to explore concepts and topics and then take actions.
Guests from academia, civil society, the private sector and unions abroad have been engaged as the group builds capacity to understand and respond to issues ranging from pedagogy and learning, democratising AI governance including through collective bargaining and enhancing the professional autonomy and skills of educators working with AI and Edtech.
What’s next?
The project with education workers is part of the TUC’s wider strategy around AI and digital technologies. A key priority is enabling the unique role of trade unions as a necessary countervailing force to the powerful and often narrow interests and perspectives that drive the AI industry. Learnings from this initial 7-month education focused action learning project will feed into this wider work extending to workers and unions across sectors.
For any enquiries contact Adam at acantwell-corn@tuc.org.uk
*Participating unions: