Generative Artificial Intelligence in Secondary STEM Education in the Light of Human Flourishing: A Scoping Literature Review

Background: Education for Human Flourishing aims to empower students to develop their full potential to lead a meaningful, autonomous life to the benefit of themselves and society at large. Recent technological developments call for an evaluation of the entanglement of (education for) Human Flourishing and Artificial Intelligence. Following the PRISMA guidelines, this scoping review investigates to what extent the current research on generative AI in secondary STEM education provides a solid basis for exploring the interconnection of Artificial Intelligence and Human Flourishing in STEM education. To this end, 183 eligible publications were analyzed regarding their general characteristics, research themes as well as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOTs). Results: The scoping literature review reveals a focus on cognitive aspects of STEM education despite the need to broaden human capabilities in the light of generative AI. Ethical aspects are sidelined, although the SWOT analysis shows some significance of these issues. Moreover, there is a lack of research on STEM-specific theoretical frameworks and research is concentrated in the Global North, both of which might undermine an unbiased, culturally diverse development of new solutions for generative AI in secondary STEM education. The majority of current research examines AI-generated content instead of human participants, and publications focus on the performance and development of AI tools instead of their impact and application. This might hinder a human-centered approach to AI in secondary STEM education, potentially threatening human identity and meaning and thereby Human Flourishing. Conclusions: Based on the results, we show that existing literature does not yet provide a suitable foundation for Human Flourishing related to Artificial Intelligence in secondary STEM education. Our findings thus point to future research perspectives necessary to strengthen Human Flourishing in STEM education and ensure a human-centered, meaningful approach to Artificial Intelligence.