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Cited by 4Artificial Intelligence in EducationDigital literacy in educationArtificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education

Governing the unseen: A systematic review of AI literacy among language teachers in higher education

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Deng, Yanyao, Çelik, Ferdi, Duran, Volkan·2026·Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence
DOI 10.1016/j.caeai.2026.100658
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Abstract

This systematic review is a synthesis of 32 empirical and conceptual studies published between December 2022 and March 2026 to investigate AI literacy among language teachers in higher education. The review has answered four research questions related to conceptualisations of AI literacy, pedagogical practices and professional-development models, assessment approaches, and reported outcomes, challenges, and gaps guided by the theoretical lens of governing the unseen, which prefigures institutional policies. Based on PRISMA 2020, the systematic search of ERIC, the British Educational Index, and Web of Science resulted in the identification of studies, which were subjected to thematic synthesis, based on the critical policy and sociomaterial lenses. The results show that AI literacy is largely conceptualised in terms of competency-based, multi-dimensional models, but critical and domain-specific dimensions are not well-developed. Professional development practices are often unstructured and not well planned. Assessment often relies on self-report tools, with limited focus on ethical and critical skills. Limited institutional support, unequal access to resources, unclear ethical guidelines, and shared or unclear responsibility can reduce positive individual outcomes, such as increased confidence and innovative teaching practices. The review concludes that the development of AI literacy tends to be built largely through individual effort and ad-hoc experimentation, while institutional governance structures that could make it durable and equitable remain underdeveloped. The available evidence suggests that sustainable AI literacy development requires structural governance rather than individual upskilling. Policy, practice, and future research implications are discussed, with the importance of longitudinal, linguistically diverse, and governance-oriented scholarship.

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  • Future cohorts will increasingly enter higher education after years of exposure to generative AI tools across educational settings that differ substantially in instructional AI training and opportunities to develop AI literacy.

    “However, future cohorts will increasingly enter higher education after years of exposure to these tools across educational settings that differ substantially in instructional AI training and opportunities to develop AI literacy (Davin et al. 2026; Deng et al. 2026; Wang et al. 2026a).”

    From Generative AI Expands the Intellectual Reach of Course Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) (2026) · cites this paper as Deng et al. 2026

    The Introduction (page unavailable) reports widespread GenAI use among current undergraduates, while Section 6.1 and the Conclusions (pages unavailable) describe uneven access to teacher training and AI-literacy opportunities. The paper does not establish that future cohorts will enter higher education after years of exposure across differing educational settings. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Deng, Y., Çelik, F., & Duran, V.
Affiliations
  • University of Leeds (GB)
  • Iğdır Üniversitesi (TR)
Corresponding author
  • Deng, Yanyao
  • Duran, Volkan
ORCID
Venue
Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2026-12
Volume
11
Pages
100658
ISSN
2666-920X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.caeai.2026.100658
OpenAlex
W7172532111
Cited by
4
References
10
Citations by year
2026: 4
FWCI
3.60
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
Computers and Education Artificial Intelligence (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
University of Leeds
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Artificial Intelligence in Education
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Digital literacy in education
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Health Informatics › Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
Keywords
AI literacy, language teachers, higher education, institutional governance, teacher professional development, AI literacy assessment, AI ethics, critical AI literacy, institutional support, educational technology policy, sociomateriality

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