Abstract:

Current research on Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) integration in education predominantly addresses technical implementation or generic digital literacy, overlooking the specific pedagogical mechanisms through which GenAI reshapes citizenship education practices. Existing frameworks lack systematic differentiation among the distinct roles GenAI can assume across different pedagogical actors and provide limited guidance on how these roles specifically support critical thinking development, epistemic autonomy, and democratic participation competences. This gap leaves educators without structured guidance for positioning GenAI as a pedagogical tool for citizenship education rather than merely a content delivery mechanism.

This qualitative-theoretical study addresses three research questions:
(1) How do classic educational theories on citizenship education inform GenAI integration?
(2) What epistemic and pedagogical tensions emerge when GenAI tools are introduced within citizenship education frameworks?
(3) How can GenAI roles be theoretically differentiated to support specific dimensions of digital citizenship development?

The methodology employs a systematic literature review combining citizenship education theories and GenAI educational applications, followed by structured data extraction to identify core pedagogical functions and epistemic tensions. Analysis of these tensions across different pedagogical actors (educators, students, communities) through narrative synthesis reveals three distinct GenAI role configurations, integrated into a role-differentiated pedagogical model.

The study proposes a three-dimensional framework distinguishing GenAI functions by pedagogical actor and citizenship education objective:
- AI as Design Partner supports educators in content customization and formative feedback generation.
- AI as Critical Friend engages students in reflective dialogue through questioning and counterarguments, developing metacognitive awareness and argumentation skills across three Digital Citizenship Education domains: online presence, digital well-being, and digital rights.
- AI as Work Participant facilitates community-centered civic simulations and inquiry projects, supporting collaborative meaning-making in authentic digital civic contexts.

The framework contributes to citizenship education theory by establishing conceptual distinctions among GenAI pedagogical roles previously conflated in literature. Methodologically, it demonstrates how classic educational theories can be systematically extended to account for algorithmic mediation in learning processes. For practice, it provides educators with theoretically grounded criteria for selecting appropriate GenAI applications based on specific citizenship education objectives, moving beyond generic technology integration approaches.

Keywords:

Artificial Intelligence, Citizenship Education, Critical Thinking, Pedagogical Framework.