Future-Proofing Small Schools: Rethinking Education with AI

Giuseppina Rita Jose Mangione, Francesca De Santis, Lydia Zampolini, Manuel Gentile

2025

Abstract

This study investigates the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in revitalising teaching practices in small and rural schools, addressing their unique challenges. Combining a systematic literature review and a participatory imagination lab (workshop) with Italian teachers, the research adopts a dual methodological approach. The review identifies key focus areas for action, emphasising how AI can address critical issues in “non-standard” educational contexts such as multigrade classrooms, teacher turnover, and geographical isolation. The imagination lab complements this by exploring how these challenges are recognised in the Italian context and what solutions are envisioned using technology cards. This participatory methodology enables the co-design of potential AI-driven strategies tailored to real-world scenarios. The study underscores the significance of small schools as unique laboratories for educational innovation, highlighting the replicability and scalability of this approach. Extending such methods to a broader network of small schools offers the potential to refine technological solutions, develop tailored intervention clusters, and foster evidence-based, scalable policies for equitable and resilient education in similar contexts worldwide.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Mangione G., De Santis F., Zampolini L. and Gentile M. (2025). Future-Proofing Small Schools: Rethinking Education with AI. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 2: CSEDU; ISBN 978-989-758-746-7, SciTePress, pages 151-162. DOI: 10.5220/0013410000003932

in Bibtex Style

@conference{csedu25,
author={Giuseppina Mangione and Francesca De Santis and Lydia Zampolini and Manuel Gentile},
title={Future-Proofing Small Schools: Rethinking Education with AI},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 2: CSEDU},
year={2025},
pages={151-162},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013410000003932},
isbn={978-989-758-746-7},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 2: CSEDU
TI - Future-Proofing Small Schools: Rethinking Education with AI
SN - 978-989-758-746-7
AU - Mangione G.
AU - De Santis F.
AU - Zampolini L.
AU - Gentile M.
PY - 2025
SP - 151
EP - 162
DO - 10.5220/0013410000003932
PB - SciTePress